


coffee break

by yutaeilbot



Series: I don't have a title for this but they're connected I swear: The series [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: College AU, End Game polyamory, M/M, Miscommunication, Teacher-Student Relationship, coffee shop AU, taeil is doing his first year of teaching at yuta's university, there's johnjae drama that gets explored more deeply in another fic ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), win is an exchange student dance major, yuta is a business major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-08-26 04:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16674811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yutaeilbot/pseuds/yutaeilbot
Summary: Barista Yuta was sociable. Nothing wrong with some harmless flirting, right?orThe yuta centric yuwinil coffee shop/college au that no one asked for.





	1. Summer

**Author's Note:**

> thanks 2 kaitlyn for being my brainstorm bounce board (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘)  
> also thanks 2 xuxis unreleased station song for the title
> 
>  
> 
> anyway remember communication is key for healthy relationships, kiddos

Yuta had a love-hate relationship with summer. He loved the weather, the warm nights and sweet breezes; he loved not taking summer classes; he loved working more hours, ‘cause more hours equaled more money; he loved the opening shifts with Johnny, playing Blink-182 over the shop’s speakers while they prepped for the first customers of the morning. On the other hand, he hated how the heat made his walks from his apartment to the subway station and from the station to the shop less bearable; he hated the shitty high school kids that would hang around the shop because they had nothing better to do, hated the shitty high school kids applying for summer jobs, hated training the shitty high school kids for their summer jobs. 

But summer also brought new people. New students at SMU, fresh hires at the companies that made their homes in the skyscrapers that formed the city skyline, people moving out on their own in an attempt at facing their adulthood in the concrete jungle (even if they aren’t ready, and most of them aren’t). And the coffee shop attracted all these people and more.

Including Taeyong and Ten, two SMU dance majors that had more history with Johnny than Yuta himself did, even though they’d been friends for years. The pair were best friends and came into the shop pretty often, usually just for coffee, but sometimes to give Johnny shit, too. Taeyong and Johnny had a dating period through their late highschool and early college years that left Taeyong with a lot of teasing material. Ten, being friends with both Taeyong and Johnny since before then, had teasing material on both, and wouldn’t hesitate to pull his best friend into the teasing. 

And Yuta was sociable. He enjoyed talking with customers who would talk back with him. His customer service smile was just his normal smile. The regulars addressed him by name, some more shyly than others, and Yuta liked to tease them for it, saying ‘doesn’t this mean you’re here too often? is it really for the coffee, or just me?’ and sending them off with a wink. Nothing wrong with some harmless flirting, right? It was just fun - built up customer relationships and made slow shifts less tedious. No harm, no foul. He didn’t mean anything by it.

It felt like a game sometimes, and Yuta was always on the lookout for more unassuming playmates. His favorite was when someone new came in - fresh meat to tease from a blank slate- and he got that about halfway through the summer when in walked a shorter man with fiery red hair (which Yuta automatically noted was dyed. no one’s hair is naturally that shade red, regardless of how good they look) and a gorgeous smile. He looked a little disheveled, sure, probably a new hire at some company who didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing. Yuta smiled at him, delighting in the way the man smiled back but looked away quickly. 

“Hey, what can I get for you?” Yuta leaned against the counter, still smiling. He explored the stranger’s features more while he scanned over the menu. _What a gorgeous skin tone…_

“Hi, uh, a chai tea latte, if you wouldn’t mind,” the stranger answered, returning Yuta’s smile, albeit a little shyly. The smile seemed natural, not like the stranger was a no stranger to polite customer service smiles.

“I mind a lot, actually,” Yuta joked, putting on a fake serious face. “Choose something easier.” 

The man looked shocked, eyes darting from Yuta’s face back to the menu and his lips parting slightly. His shock was slowly morphing into embarrassment when Yuta spoke again.

“Hey, no, I’m joking, it’s fine,” he assured, chuckling softly. It was a very slow Monday afternoon, and he decided he could take his time playing up this one. “That’s quite a deer in headlights face you’ve got there. Can I have a name for your order?” 

“T-Taeil.” Yuta couldn’t help but smile at the stutter and slight blush on the man’s face.

“Great. You can wait wherever, if you look especially comfortable when I’m done I might even bring it to you instead of calling you up to get it,” Yuta said, shooting the blushing stranger a wink.

“Wait, wait, how mu--” 

“It’s on the house,” he interrupted. “Because your shocked and embarrassed face was cute. Run along and get comfy, instead of standing there with that deer in headlights face. You can stare in shock of my good looks when I bring you your drink, yeah?” 

He turned from the counter, ignoring Taeil’s brief protest in favor of starting the drink prep. He felt, more than saw, Johnny slide next to him at the sink, taking care of the dirty dishes in the sink. 

“Don’t freak out our first-time customers, dude,” the older scolded halfheartedly. “And ‘because your shocked and embarrassed face was cute.’ Really? You can’t think of a better reason to give people free coffee?” 

“Don’t be silly, Johnny. It’s not free coffee. It’s tea.” Yuta grinned. “Besides, it was really cute. You would understand if you’d have seen it.” 

“Put your smart assery away, dick.” 

They bumped shoulders, playful as ever, until Johnny noticed the entrance of other customers and turned once more to step up to the counter.

“Don’t take too long, by the way,” he said and Yuta glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. “I know your game, dude. I’ll give you five minutes before I call your big gay ass back over here.” 

“Five _whole_ minutes? You are a fair and just ruler, Johnny Seo.” 

He didn’t see it, but Yuta knew Johnny rolled his eyes at that before turning bright eyed and smiling to their customers. It was almost funny how well Johnny knew him, but it wasn’t like Yuta planned on spending more than a moment or two flirting with the guy before getting back to work. That was how he operated; he wasn’t really interested - it was just fun. 

True to his experienced barista words, it only took a moment for Yuta to whip up the drink and he stepped out from behind the bar, drink in hand and smile on his face. He glanced around the mostly empty shop until his gaze fell on that fiery red hair and Taeil nestled in the far end of one of the couches in the back corner, absentmindedly fiddling with his phone.

 _Target acquired._ Yuta thought, making a beeline for the couch. 

“Here,” he announced himself, offering the drink to Taeil and lowering to sit on the couch next to him. Yuta sat closer to the other man than necessary, turned to face him with one leg bent, knee pressed not uncomfortably into Taeil’s hip. 

“O-oh, thanks.” He put his phone down quickly to take the warm tea, and took a small sip almost immediately. Yuta could see him flinch slightly from the heat - everyone did that - but he drank it nonetheless. 

“Oh, so the fiery hair is my indication that you’re a dragon, right?” he grinned, laughing when Taeil seemed to inhale some of the drink and coughed. “I’ve never seen someone burn their tongue so eagerly on a drink, so the answer is that it’s not hot to you ‘cause you’re a dragon.” 

Taeil shot him a wary look, unsure of Yuta’s intentions, and sat the latte on the table in front of the couch. 

“It’s a joke, Ariel, I mean no harm.” Yuta held his hands up in a gesture of defense. “It looks good on you.” 

“Ariel,” Taeil echoed. “From dragons to Disney, huh? Someone’s enjoys their pop culture.” 

“And he speaks!” Yuta fake announced. “Ladies and gentlemen, the man speaks.” 

The redhead shushed him, grabbing his drink for another swallow, but Yuta didn’t miss the rise of color on his cheeks once more.

“Since you’ve spoken properly, does this mean your mermaid tail’s going to appear soon? You can live in my bathtub, if you need.” 

“Do you invite every possible mythical creature into your home like this?” Taeil lilted, a coy smile properly forming on his lips. “That’s not very becoming of you…” 

“Yuta.” The barista filled in, catching on to Taeil’s trailing off as a moment to introduce himself. 

“Well, Yuta,” Taeil tried out the name for himself, seeming pleased with himself. “Thank you for the drink.” 

“No need to thank me,” he insisted. “My little joke was too much for your first time, I think. I should have saved it for the next visit.”

“Bold of you to assume there will be a next visit,” Taeil chuckled. 

“There will be,” Yuta retorted coolly. “Pretty things like you always come back.”

“At least you have fun at your job, I guess.” Taeil laughed. “Playing games like these with every ‘pretty thing’ that comes in.” 

“I take it your job isn’t as fun?” 

“Not the ones I’ve had in the past. I’m starting a new one here, and I doubt it will be much fun, either.” 

“A shame,” Yuta tsked, adjusting in the seat as a guise to shift slightly closer to the other man. “What kind of work are you doing? You don’t seem much older than me, you know, there’s no reason you should be stuck in a boring job already.”

“Oh, uh,” Taeil hesitated, and Yuta inwarded cursed himself. Every person had a topic that would make them sink back into themselves, and it seemed like Yuta found Taeil’s. “I’m, uh… a new hire at the university.”

“Oh? Maybe I’ll see you around campus, then?” Yuta offered, trying to return the air of comfortable teasing. “I’m kind of hard to stay away from, you know. I’m sure we’ll see each other one way or another.”

“You’re a student, I take it?” Taeil asked, humming when Yuta nodded his response. “Maybe we’ll bump into one another. The question is will you recognize me without this hair?”  
“Oh, of course.” Yuta grinned. “I could never forget a pretty face like your’s.” 

Taeil let himself laugh, clearly amused by Yuta’s little game. 

“What department are you in?” 

“Oh, I’ll be in the bu--” Taeil was cut off by Johnny’s booming voice shouting, “Yuta, it’s been five minutes, so get your big gay ass back here.” 

“Sorry,” Yuta said, offering Taeil an apologetic look. “Duty calls. I do hope I’ll see you around again, Ariel.” 

Taeil waved his goodbye as Yuta returned behind the counter, but didn’t linger any longer, to Yuta’s disappointment. He watched from the counter as Taeil left the shop, chai tea latte in hand. He found himself anticipating the next visit he hoped for.


	2. Which One of Us is Panicking Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we have a fake confident gay, a panicked gay who doesn't normally panic, and Johnny watching the world burn.
> 
> i'm. not 100% happy with this tbh i struggled with trying to decide who i want win's character to be here. cos i want him to be sweet n very winwin but i also didnt want to completely uwu him. i figured, what better way to have this work than to just have him fake it til he makes it and also makes both of them panic lmao

The weeks passed on. Taeil did stop by a few more times, unfortunately when the shop was busier, so Yuta couldn’t slip away to talk to him more, but it was mid-August before he knew it. The shop was steadily busy, as usual, since public schools had begun once more, and it’d get busier as the university semester started as well. Yuta had his fun as usual, making girls giggle and bringing out blushes left and right.

A few new faces made their appearances, typical of a new fall semester for the university, and old regulars stopped by as usual, including Ten and Taeyong. It seemed like they actually started coming more frequently, poking and prodding at Johnny about some boy he hadn’t mentioned to Yuta yet. He knew the time would come when Johnny would share with him; they’d always had a healthy relationship in that regard - things were talked about when it was the right time to talk about them.

Some point around the middle of August, the pair were joined by a third. A pretty blonde thing with a soft smile and a thick accent that Yuta found quite charming. His name was Sicheng, people called him Winwin, and he was an exchange student starting in the dance department. He was pretty - gorgeous even - but something about him made Yuta uneasy about playing his usual flirty games with him; something about his smiles and unsteady words made Yuta feel almost bad when he considered teasing him. 

So he played nice, only flirted a little with his new acquaintance, shared smiles and talked casually with him when the terrible twosome had him tagging along on their shop visits. Yuta noticed Sicheng didn’t talk much, and that he preferred to just watch and laugh along when Ten and Taeyong were giving Johnny shit. 

Sicheng didn’t come in by himself, understandably. Ten and Taeyong took him under their collective wing while he adjusted to living in the city, so you’d rarely see them without him and vice-versa. Yuta was pleasantly surprised when Sicheng stepped cautiously into the shop alone one day.

“Hey,” he called, waving to Sicheng from behind the counter. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hi, Yuta,” Sicheng said back, seeming nervous as he approached. 

“Decided to venture out into the city without Yong and Ten?” Yuta asked, leaning against the tile surface, offering Sicheng a smile. “I’m glad to see you out on your own, though you don’t seem as thrilled.”

“No, it’s fine,” the blonde insisted, biting into his lower lip. “I’m not really doing anything. I just wanted coffee and this is where I know to go.” 

Yuta faked a gasp and placed a hand on his chest before joking “so you didn’t come here for my pretty face? You’re breaking my heart, Winnie.” 

“Winnie?” the younger echoed, eyebrow raised. “What an unexpectedly soft nickname from a face like that.”

A moment of silence passed between them. _From a face like that._ Yuta wondered briefly what kind of face he was making to prompt that comment and hoped he didn’t look… unhappy? He hadn’t been sleeping well, so maybe there were dark circles under his eyes. He’d have to check later.

“Don’t look so confused,” Sicheng laughed. “You just don’t seem the type to go for cute nicknames, you know? With your face looking like that and all.”

Yuta didn’t respond again. Was there something on his face? He flinched slightly when Johnny’s hand came down on his shoulder, followed by a laugh of “he’s saying you’re good looking. Like, you look like the type who doesn’t do sweet.” 

“What?” he finally said, turning his head to look at Johnny before looking back to Sicheng. “What does that even mean? I mean, I got the good looking part - you are also good looking - but, like, how does that --” 

Johnny shushed him with a finger to his lips. “Accept the compliment.” He turned his attention to Sicheng. “Maybe be more straightforward with him. He likes to flirt but he’s pretty dense when someone cute tries to compliment him in a not-flirty way.” 

“Hey!” Yuta slapped a hand against Johnny’s upper arm as he turned away. “That’s not true! I am a genius at all times.” 

Settling back in front of the sink of dishes, Johnny mock mumbled the sentence back to Yuta and turned his head to stuck his tongue out at him. To which Yuta responded by throwing the nearest towel at his head and sticking his tongue out too.

“A-anyway,” Sicheng stuttered, cheeks reddened. “Coffee. I came for coffee.” 

“Right.” Yuta nodded, smiling. “What can I get you?”

“I don’t… really know, actually,” the younger answered after a second. “I want to try something new. Sweet and caramel-y?” 

Immediately, Yuta’s entire barista knowledge base came flooding to mind. Sweet and caramel-y. He could do that. That was easy. He nodded and shooed Sicheng away with something along the lines of “cute boys can get free drinks from me when I give them grief” before turning to make said sweet caramel drink. It was easy. Basic. Entry-level coffee that Yuta’s fumbling hands spilled mid-prep. 

He heard a snicker and turned to see Johnny grinning at him. “Cat got your tongue?” 

“No. Shut up.” 

“The flirter has become the flirtee?” 

“Dude,” Yuta, having just finished cleaning his mess, flicked water from his fingers towards Johnny. “I just didn’t expect it from him, you know?”

“Not really.” Johnny shrugged. “Tae and Ten have told me how he gets at parties. I’m more surprised he found someone he felt comfortable enough to say something so bold to. Even if his wording was off.” 

Now this peaked Yuta’s interest. He liked parties, he knew parties - this knowledge of parties had him wondering what exactly Johnny had heard from twink and twinker. He tried to focus on the drink, but constantly found himself wondering… did that mean Sicheng was a party boy? Did he drink a lot? Was he a sad drunk? A clingy drunk? A slutty drunk? Did he have a low tolerance? 

It took him much longer than he would have liked, but eventually he did finish the damn drink and took his Johnny approved five-minute flirt break with an encouraging shout of “go get him, tiger” from the older.

Sicheng had placed himself in the far corner of the shop, nestled comfortably on the couch, phone in hand - almost the spitting image of Taeil several weeks before, just minus the red hair - and Yuta made his way over in what he hoped was a confident way. 

“Sorry it took me 80 years,” he said, handing the drink gingerly to the other. “My hands just, like, exploded and I spilled it everywhere.” 

The blonde laughed, taking the drink with eager hands and nodding towards the couch in a gesture for Yuta to sit with him. It didn’t take a genius to see the store wasn’t very busy at the moment, but it wasn’t like Yuta had planned to not sit with him. So he did just that, sitting what he deemed an appropriate distance from the younger.

“Also sorry I’m apparently stupid,” he laughed, somewhat nervous. “It looks like today isn’t a good day for my brain.” 

“That’s okay,” Sicheng assured him, smiling brightly. “You don’t need to be smart with your looks, you know.”

There he went again, short-circuiting Yuta’s brain for _no goddamn reason._

“I mean- uh-”

“Are you sure you’re the Yuta Ten and Yong told me about? The flirty fun one?” Sicheng laughed. “I think mine may have gotten switched with one who needs some social acclimation.” 

“No! Jesus, I mean, like, you’re very cute but you seem soft and so I haven’t been, like, a dick or anything because, like, I am actually very conscious about who I flirt with and the last thing I wanted to do was to, like, horribly traumatize a foreign guy.” 

Yuta didn’t know why or what, exactly, just spewed from his mouth. Judging by expression only, it seemed like Sicheng wasn’t expecting it, either. His eyes were wide, mouth open slightly, and he reached forward to set his drink on the table so he could grab one of Yuta’s hands with both of his.

“I’m sorry!” He blurted, cheeks slowly flushing. “I didn’t mean to, like, make you uncomfortable or anything. I just kinda thought you might need me to, like, put out an invitation for flirting? So I was trying, but I’m really not good at it.”

Sicheng kept going, staring down at Yuta’s hand in his as his ramble continued and his blush darkened.

“Like, honestly, I’m not confident sober, so I’m overcompensating,, I guess. Nothing is really coming out how I’d like because you’re, like, really hot? And this isn’t really my forte, unless I’m, like, following, you know what I mean? And now you seem panicked and now I’m panicking ‘cause the last thing I wanted was to come across too strong and make it weird ‘cause you’re very cute and sweet and you’ve been nothing but kind to me since the first time we met!” 

Then they were both silent. It seemed to Yuta as though Sicheng had been marinating in those thoughts since before he even brought the drink over, and that idea made him frown, brows furrowing. From that, Yuta’s mind wandered to the other times he and Sicheng had interacted: the way the blonde giggled at all of his jokes, no matter how stupid’ the smiles they shared when the others were too occupied with each other; the few times there was opportunity for skinship and Sicheng took it before Yuta did.

_Oh my god. Have I been blatantly ignoring someone’s obvious interest in me because I thought I would mentally scar him forever._

“You’re fine, honestly,” Yuta started after a moment of silence. He took his hand from Sicheng’s grasp and put a finger under the younger’s chin to tilt his head up again. “I… can be very blinded by my own ideas. I didn’t think that, like, there was… something? ‘Cause typically I make something, you know? But now I just… you were trying to make something and I was worried I’d, like, I dunno, hurt your feelings or something by flirting with you.”

They sat in silence again, really just soaking in the atmosphere of what they’d created. It wasn’t awkward, perse, but the air felt a little uneasy. How would this relationship go from here? Who would make what move? 

“Well, Jesus, I feel like an idiot.” Yuta broke the silence again with a smile. “Let’s try again next time, yeah? I’ll respond more… normally. I won’t worry as much. Let’s start again how we naturally act. No trying to lead, no being panicked for no reason. This never happened. Everything is fine.” 

Sicheng laughed then, and the two fell into a short giggling fit. The whole situation seemed kind of absurd to them in retrospect. They had their laughs until Sicheng’s phone went off, shouting out an alarm of some kind. 

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, checking the phone screen and standing quickly. “I’m sorry I made it weird. I’ll take you up on that whole ‘try again next time’ thing, though? If that’s cool? I’m sorry I’m rushing out, there’s rehearsal in ten minutes and it’ll take me ten minutes to get to the studio from here. I’m so sorry.” 

“Hey, no problem, Winnie,” Yuta said, standing and trying to calm Sicheng’s sudden rush by taking his hand. “You can tell them you were held hostage by a devilishly handsome barista who just wouldn’t let you go.” 

“What a convincing excuse.” Sicheng smiled again, momentary awkward atmosphere forgotten, before stepping around Yuta smoothly and heading for the door. “Until next time!” 

Yuta stood in the back corner, watching Sicheng’s form disappear down the block with a slight smile gracing his features until Johnny yelled for him.

“Now that that’s fucking over can you come do your job some more?” he asked, only half joking. “Stop your wistful stares and come help me move coffee beans from the back room.” 

“My muscles will come to the rescue,” Yuta called, hurrying back behind the counter and into the back room. “You can swoon, it’s alright.”

“Save it for your free coffee boys, Yuta,” Johnny groaned, lifting a sack labeled ‘small’ and huffing under his breath. “Who labeled these. This is definitely not a small bag. I don’t get paid enough for this _and_ Yuta’s weird flirting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so now i hope we can see the relationship dynamics - yuta all fun n flirty n interested with taeil, but being more cautious with win. but what does this mean? what do you think!  
> also i really wanna know who u think will kiss first. idk why. but tell me who u think.
> 
>    
> as always find me on twit @yutaeilbot!


	3. Is 6 P.M. Really a Good Time for Iced Americano, Though

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the semester approaches, Johnny and Ten tease a moping Yuta. Taeil comes to his rescue kind of but not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me? not updating on time? yes. sorry i'm hella struggling w/ this rn cos im basically writing two filler chaps of basic unimportant yuil and yuwin interaction to make it feel less like emotions here are developing too quickly /sigh/  
> also i graduate on the 12th praise me for i am eternal 
> 
> I haven't noted this at all previously, but this fic is 100% unbeta'd, any typos and stuff you see are completely accidental and due to me not properly editing. you can feel free to point them out for me to fix, but otherwise i'll maybe edit some of the chapters later for grammar stuff.

The beginning of the semester quickly approaching was both a blessing and a curse. Yuta relished in the new faces and the old, but also adored the quieter moments in the shop. He was a social being - always had been - but sometimes it was nice to just absorb the calmness in doing the dishes with whoever else was on shift and the noise of the dishes and whatever pandora station was on. Those were the moments Yuta lived for as the first day of classes approached with the promise of international business and a smaller income from shorter hours.

A week and a half passed by too slowly, and Yuta seemed to have trouble focusing on his harmless flirtations. Instead, his mind often wandered to Taeil or Sicheng. He hadn’t seen much of either one, only managing quick hellos on their occasional visits during the busy hours. 

“Stop moping,” Johnny tsked, reaching over from the further end of the counter to playfully tug a strand of Yuta’s hair. “I haven’t seen you this gloomy since your initial homesick spell when you decided to move here for good.” 

“I’m not moping _or_ gloomy,” he huffed, whacking away the other’s hand. “I don’t know why you think I am.” 

“You’ve been sighing and staring at the door for, like, 10 minutes,” another voice interjected. “But you didn’t even notice me come in.” 

Yuta turned to look at Ten, perched on the edge of the counter and sipping a frappe noisily through a straw. He looked very amused, with one brow raised and a playful smile tugging at his lips.

“I’m just thinking,” Yuta said, frowning. “Not moping.” 

“Deep in thought about some pretty boys you haven’t gotten to talk to.” 

“It doesn’t matter--” 

As if on cue, the door chimed the arrival of a customer. Yuta was relieved until he turned his attention back to the door and saw Taeil. He could practically feel the grin breaking out on Ten’s face.

“Did I… interrupt something?” Taeil asked, having stepped only a few steps into the shop when he looked up from his wallet to see the three at the counter staring at him. 

“That _is_ quite a deer-in-headlights look,” Ten mused, grinning as he slid off the edge of the counter, frappe in hand. “Come talk with me over here, Johnald.” 

Johnny seemed almost eager to escape from behind the counter, boosting himself over the shiny surface to follow Ten over to a table a bit away. 

“You’re fine,” Yuta called, gesturing Taeil over with a wave “Nice to see you. Haven’t had the pleasure of properly talking with you in a while.” 

“Haven’t been in when it’s so empty in a while,” the older retorted, coming over to the counter rather quickly, avoiding looking at Ten and Johnny who were almost definitely probably talking about them. “Seems my reputation precedes me.” 

“Not my fault,” Yuta said, raising his hands defensively, internally cursing Ten and Johnny. “Johnny’s the one with the big mouth.” 

“Hey!” Johnny exclaimed, but shut up quick when Ten smacked his upper arm, frowning and clearly displeased at Johnny’s tactlessness. 

“Sure.” Taeil laughed. “I’m sure it was him and not the cute one who gave me a free drink.” 

The cute one in question leaned his hip against the counter, chuckling before saying, “I also invited you to my house in case you needed a bathtub for when your mermaid tail came back. Speaking of which…” 

Yuta gestured to Taeil’s hair, now a dark not-quite-black-but-very-close brown. It had been dyed before the last time Taeil was in, but Yuta hadn’t been able to say anything about it due to the crowd that was impatiently waiting to order drinks they’d impatiently wait to receive. 

“It looks good,” he said as Taeil lifted a hand to his hair, seemingly unsure of what Yuta meant for a moment. “If you look good with red hair and this hair, I wonder if there’s any hair you look bad with.” 

“Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get a chance to find out a few more.” The smile blossoming on Taeil’s face was sly, playful, and leaned his hip against the counter as well. “If it’s alright, though, I’d like to go back to why I’m here.”

“And here I was thinking you came to see me.” The younger faked sadness, pouting. 

“An added bonus, I’ll admit, but I’m really here for iced americano.”

“At 6 pm?” Yuta cocked an eyebrow but entered the order into the register. “You have to pay for this one, I’m afraid.”

“How disappointing,” Taeil fake gasped, pulling a crumpled bill from his pocket and hanging it to Yuta before prompted. “Toss the rest of it into your change jar and come talk to me when you’re done?” 

He was walking away before Yuta had a chance to respond, leaving the Japanese man staring dumbly between the 20 on the counter and Taeil’s back as he walked away to sit on the far end of the couch like he owned the place. It took a should of “Yuta!” from Johnny to have him snap back into his brain to get to work.

“You really don’t know how to be flirted with, do you?” Ten laughed, coming back up to the counter. “So used to being the flirter that you don’t know how to deal with it when a hot guy makes you the flirtee.”

“Shut up,” Yuta grumbled, fixing the drink like he had a billion times before. “I’m used to hot people flirting with me. I don’t know why I’m acting like a damn fool lately..” 

He didn’t give Ten time to fire off whatever quip he surely had ready, though. Instead made his way quickly to the back corner, drink in hand, to finally be able to talk to Taeil for a bit again. 

“Thank you.” Taeil smiled brightly as Yuta sat by him and handed him the iced drink. He took a sip of the drink before saying anything else, and for a moment Yuta wondered it if was any good; in all his time at the shop, he’d made and tasted most of the items on their menu in his free time but he had never actually had an iced americano. He’d add it to his to-do list. 

“So,” the older cleared his throat, smiling softly at Yuta. “I understand this is kind of unorthodox, I guess, but I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to dinner or something?” 

Yuta blinked at him for a moment as his words set in, and then a smile broke out over his face as well.

“Seriously?” he chuckled. “You wanna take the barista on a date?” 

“I don’t see why not.” Taeil shrugged, but Yuta noticed he was fiddling idly with the straw of the drink. “You’re cute and charming and I love to embarrass myself.”

“You haven’t embarrassed yourself,” the Japanese man assured him, still smiling, albeit more softly. 

“That’s what dinner’s for.” 

“I--” Yuta stopped himself, lips pressing into a thin line. Truth be told, it’d been a long time since he’d last been on a date - maybe a year, even. He wasn’t _opposed_ to going on a date with Taeil, especially not considering how often he ended up thinking about him. Maybe Yuta had a crush. Okay, two crushes, when you add in Sicheng. Maybe. “What the hell. Sure.” 

He fished his phone from his back pocket and pulled up his contact list and handing it to Taeil. “Fill it in. Give yourself an emoji. I’ll text you when I’m free and you can get back to me and we’ll… plan or whatever.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Taeil took Yuta’s phone to input his number, but the younger noticed a slight shake to his hands. Was he nervous? After initiating date speak? Cute. 

When Taeil handed the phone back, Yuta glanced over it, just to make sure Taeil didn’t chicken out. He had several automatic rejection hotlines and various other fake hotline numbers memorized that he gave out to unwanted attention givers on the rare nights he used to go out with Johnny. It seemed legit, and he chuckled softly at Taeil’s choice of the alien head emoji next to his name. 

“Cute,” he said softly, locking his phone once more and sliding it back into his pocket. “So, yes, I’ll go on a date with you, but not on the clock that I’m most likely about to be summoned back to.” 

Yuta raised a finger when Taeil cocked an eyebrow and, as if on cue once more, Johnny shouted “Yuta, I didn’t approve your flirting break this time.” 

“But it’s empty in here,” Taeil half-whined, pouting. “I wanted to talk some with you.” 

“Well, now I have your number, so we can talk plenty?” Yuta offered, standing and stretching his arms above his head. “Plus, that invitation for my bathtub hasn’t expired, but on the condition you dye your hair back.” 

They both laughed, and Taeil conceded to his ‘loss.’ Standing as well and bidding Yuta farewell with an almost shy “you’ll text me later?” To which Yuta’s heart beat a little faster. What was he gonna do? Say no? So he sent Taeil off with an honest “yes” and returned to his post behind the counter, happy smile content on his lips, and Johnny and Ten cackling a few feet away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, hypothetically, if i actually wrote the date but as a flashback when the drama happens later, would that be okay or do yall really want me to suffer trying to write a chapter that is solely yuil date. cos ill do it if you want it. you just gotta let me know
> 
> ★ as always! find me @yutaeilbot on twitter and curiouscat ★


	4. Yes or Yes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Taeil's offer, Yuta is inspired to follow suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick note here! i changed the chapter order!! originally i wanted to have the dates immediately after the chapter in which they are offered, however ive decided i dont like that so... yuil date is now ch 5 and this is ch 4! 
> 
> as usual, not beta'd~
> 
> and yes i listened to yes or yes on repeat while writing this cos im tryin so hard to get a certain vibe with certain chapters and yoy fit this one best for some reason lmao

Yuta, unbeknownst to himself, was definitely more chipper after Taeil’s visit. Who would have guessed seeing someone you can’t stop thinking about would improve your mood so much?

Speaking of being unable to stop thinking about someone; it was only a few more days until the other constant subject of Yuta’s thoughts came into the shop once more. Yuta perked up when he saw Sicheng’s mop of blonde hair following behind Ten and Taeyong through the front doors. He was sure the terrible twosome had come not only for too-sweet drinks, but also to give Johnny shit about his new boyfriend. 

On that subject, Johnny had told him fairly recently about the current object of his affection, and Yuta could see from Johnny’s open book of expressions that he held a lot of fondness for this Jaehyun he talked about. It was cute, Yuta thought, the way Johnny smiled softly and chuckled and had eyes full of stars talking about the boy Yuta had not yet met. There was a promise to introduce the two. 

Unsurprisingly, Ten and Taeyong were indeed there to give Johnny shit about his boyfriend; from the moment they came in, they were making kissy faces at him and mock cooing his way. Sicheng didn’t seem too interested in that part of the visit, instead coming to properly order coffee, smiling softly at Yuta as he ordered, requesting the same sweet caramel drink he’d gotten last time he stopped in. 

“You liked it, then?” Yuta asked, smiling proudly as he tapped the order into the register. He left out a few details, though; he’d added some things that could very easily ramp up the cost, but he didn’t want Sicheng to know he’d done it. No one really needed to know. He smiled again when Sicheng nodded in response. “I’ll be glad to make it for you anytime.” 

“How much?” the blonde asked, pulling his wallet from his pocket, looking down at it to hide his almost shy smile. 

“It’s gonna hit you with a lovely five dollars, including your “Yuta’s Favorite” discount,” Yuta said, grinning as he grabbed a cup and scribbled winwinnie on the side of it with a sharpie. He had Sicheng drop the dollar bills into his open palm before entering it into the cash drawer. “Do you wanna hang out over here and wait, or go get comfy and I’ll come to you?”

The younger feigned contemplation for a moment before saying, “Well, comfort is tempting… but it’s been a bit since I’ve seen you and even watching your back as you make coffee counts for something in my book.” 

“Cute,” the other chuckled, turning from the front counter to the back to make the drink. He had this warm fuzzy feeling all throughout him as he expertly put together the drink as though he’d made it a hundred times. He probably could make it a hundred times as long as it was for Sicheng.  
“You seem very chipper today,” he heard Sicheng say behind him and he turned to flash a smile. 

“Hard not to be chipper when you’re around,” he lilted, finishing the drink with practiced ease and turning to slide past Johnny, leaned against the counter defending himself from Taeyong and Ten’s teasing. 

Sicheng moved as well, mirroring Yuta to meet him where he’d exit from behind the counter.

“Johnny,” Yuta called, glancing back over his shoulder as he and Sicheng walked to the couch in the back corner. “Five minutes.”

“Gotcha!” the older responded, shouting over Taeyong and Ten’s heads. Yuta was sure then that the three would be talking once more - this time about Sicheng rather than Taeil. 

The pair situated themselves comfortably on the couch (that Yuta felt had become somewhat symbolic to him) and Yuta handed the drink off to Sicheng, who held it in both hands and happily sipped from it. It made Yuta smile, the way Sicheng smiled with the straw in his mouth and closed his eyes as he drank. It was cute. 

“Is this how natural is gonna work with us?” he asked, leaning lazily against the back of the couch. “I feel negative need to flirt with you.”

As he spoke, Yuta found himself reaching for one of Sicheng’s hands and taking it from the cup to play with his fingers. Sicheng, apparently not feeling as relaxed, promptly choked on his drink and reached forward to set it on the table in front of the couch, coughing softly to clear his throat. 

“I’m sorry,” the older laughed. “Was that too much?”

“N-no,” Sicheng stuttered slightly, more from catching his breath than from nerves. “I just wasn’t expecting it.” 

He stared down at his lap, unmoving as Yuta toyed with his hand until, after a moment, he catches Yuta’s hand in his and slowly laced their fingers together. When Yuta glanced towards him, he saw Sicheng’s cheeks tinged a soft pink. He thought if this was how Sicheng normally was, he liked this infinitely more than Sicheng trying to put on a front. 

“Your hands are soft,” Yuta said softly. “From the moment we met I thought you were soft overall.” 

“I give off that vibe, apparently,” Sicheng mumbled, finally looking up at Yuta once more.

“I’ve heard you’re pretty wild at parties, though?”

“Oh, God,” the younger groaned, letting his head fall back. “I’m not! I just… I’m not as quiet, I guess? Alcohol does wonders for me when I want attention.”

Sicheng was blushing again, obviously embarrassed about this fun fact about himself. It only made Yuta more curious, but he figured he’d find out for himself in due time. 

“You can just call me when you want attention, Winnie,” Yuta teased, leaning toward Sicheng with a playful grin. “I’d be happy to give all you need.”

“Stop,” Sicheng whined, raising his other hand to half-heartedly push Yuta back by the shoulder. “Stop, it’s so dumb.” 

“I’ll stop on one condition.”

Yuta wasn’t sure where his sudden confidence came from, but when Sicheng raised an eyebrow and echoed, “One condition?”

“Let me take you to dinner.” It was more of a demand than a request, though Yuta didn’t quite mean for it to be. He didn’t want to seem _assertive_ or anything - maybe he was just feeling confident because he had been asked on a date only days before. That kind of thing apparently did wonders for his self-esteem (not that it was low to begin with, sometimes you just need a push, you know?). 

They sit in silence for a moment, Sicheng seeming to not take the offer too seriously and responding with another whine of “ _stoooop_ ” and another light, half-hearted shoulder push. Yuta stared at him, holding his gaze with eyes speaking no-nonsense, and it still took Sicheng a minute to realize Yuta wasn’t joking.

“I mean…” he started, blushing crawling up his cheeks once more. “I mean, you don’t have to _take_ me. It could be, like, an equal footing thing? I can take myself and you can take yourself and we can be there together? Um, that’s not to say no, though? I’d like to spend more time with you or whatever, but you don’t need to, like, have a responsibility for it or anything. I don’t have a job but I have money, I wouldn’t mind--”

“Sicheng.” Yuta interrupted with a firm voice. “I’m asking you on a date.” 

A beat of silence passed once more.

“I… gathered that,” the younger replied slowly, as if he was very carefully considering each word before saying it. “I’d like to, but, like, I can p--”

“I wouldn’t make you pay if I asked you out, Sicheng. You don’t have to answer right now if you’re, like, embarrassed or nervous or something, but I’d like to take you to dinner sometime - my treat - and I’d like to get to know you and how soft you are and your attention deficit so I can fill it.” 

Sicheng stuttered over some more words, not completing a full thought, and then was interrupted by a voice giggling at him from behind Yuta. They both shift to see Ten and Taeyong standing there, looking _very_ amused. 

“If you two are done stumbling over date plans, Yong and I are heading out, Win,” Ten chuckled. 

“Ah, no.” Sicheng stood, hesitant to let go of Yuta’s hand but inevitably releasing it anyway. “I’ll come with you.”

He stepped around Yuta, offering the older an apologetic look and saying, “Let’s plan it out later, okay?” 

Yuta nodded him away, and returned to behind the counter, smiling brightly even as the three left. It wasn’t until it was almost closing time that he realized they hadn’t exchanged contact information or _anything_. He was sure Sicheng could get his number from Ten or someone, but he couldn’t help but laugh at their own stupidity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this chapter is satisfactory! I've really been loving reading everyone's comments, by the way :) it really means so much to get your feedback even if its just "omg this was cute" or, like, i'd even accept a keyboard smash lmao 
> 
> also while i was writing this i had an idea for a sicheng pov chapter that may or may not be included, but i thought it might be good for the feels when the drama sets in in a few chapters! this is a hint that the drama is near. in fact, if you squint, its lowkey already started. but it'll get more started very very soon ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> anyway the point was would you guys be okay with that? i might do one of taeil too if you're interested on seeing some of his thoughts as well! 
> 
> ★ as usual find me on twitter or curiouscat @yutaeilbot ★


	5. Let's Make A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do I look..." He paused for far too long, searching for an appropriate adjective. "Decent?" 
> 
> "Your pants are on backwards, but yeah." Doyoung leaned against the doorway, closely examining his nails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT:// I edited the order of the chapters, so make sure you go back to chapter four if you're early to the show to make sure you get that good good sicheng chapter!!

True to his word, Yuta texted Taeil after his shift. The speed at which he received a response made Yuta chuckle; he found the elder’s eagerness very cute and they fell into conversation rather quickly. It didn't feel much different from, say, when Yuta started texting Johnny or Doyoung, it was casual even though they didn't really know each other. It felt nothing like texting a potential romantic interest - yeah, Taeil _was_ a romantic interest, but nothing like texting Rando McGee from Tinder or Looked Cuter When I Was Drunk from a night out. It was more like talking to a new friend than it was talking to a stranger; of course, though, there was still the initial warming up period, the time of testing the waters of talking before they both broke down into their own bad texting habits. 

Their schedules didn't mesh well. It wasn't for another week and a half that they could actually make the date, but they had become rather close in that time. Making the date plans felt a lot like making plans to hang out with a friend, at least until Yuta remembered the bit about how _good_ Taeil looked and how _stunning_ his smile was and how he wouldn't be opposed to, like, making out on one of their couches or something. With the addition of texting frequently, Yuta found it harder and harder to keep his mind focused on work and preparing for the semester - the Monday following their date - and found himself thinking more and more about the two men he'd grown to know so well during the past week. (Including Sicheng, they'd been getting along amazingly, but that's not for this chapter.) 

The date itself almost snuck up on Yuta, even considering how often he thought about it. It seemed like a far off day until it was the day of and Yuta felt unprepared. It'd been a hot minute since his last date. What if he fucked it up? What if he made a _fool_ of himself? What if he made a fool of himself and Taeil _didn't_ so it looked like Yuta was just a big old dumb? 

"Can you calm down for like five fucking minutes?" Doyoung stood in the doorway, watching disinterested as Yuta rambled his doubts, laying face down on his bed. "Instead of worrying about how whoever this is will perceive you, consider that you text him all the time and if he can stand that mess of typos, abbreviations, and emojis, he can survive the disaster that is you when you're into someone." 

Yuta pushed himself up onto his forearms to turn his head and stare at his roommate, eyes wide. "I think that's the most motivational thing you've ever said to me." 

"I think you're absolutely fucking nuts," the other sighed, shaking his head. "You shouldn't go on dates if this is how you're gonna act beforehand. Speaking of which, don't you also have a date with --"

"Now is not the time to question my future schedule!" the Japanese man insisted, rising onto his feet. "Do I look..." He paused for far too long, searching for an appropriate adjective. "Decent?" 

"Your pants are on backwards, but yeah." Doyoung leaned against the doorway, closely examining his nails. 

_"What?"_

The two had an odd relationship; they met Yuta's sophomore year, when he was an exchange student and Doyoung was a freshman in the same program who knew infinitely more than Yuta ever did at the age of 18. They became friends out of necessity, as many do in university, bonding over their shared feelings of 'yeah globalization and business practices are important intertwined things but, like, I hate that professor and highkey I wish he would fall off a cliff at his soonest convenience,' and going on to share many late nights, several all-nighters, and more mental breakdowns than they cared to remember. 

Yuta couldn't tell you why or _how_ they ended up renting a small apartment downtown, just like how he couldn't tell you how Doyoung ended up finishing a solid 70% of his program before Yuta had finished 50% of the same program. Okay, yeah, he could tell you why (because Doyoung was a fucking overachiever and takes way too many classes for his own good when considering also his _job_ and _blossoming love life_ with one small and rather annoying Ten) but he still couldn't tell you what the hell possessed them to move in together. They were friends, yeah, and they could depend on one another for blunt honesty and semi-decent advice but they seemed to have more differences than similarities, including but not limited to Doyoung's desire for fried chicken at least once a week and constant state of business, and Yuta's early morning workout schedule and inability to function before dates. 

Yuta's pants were indeed on backwards.

"You really need to calm down, Yuta," Doyoung said, stepping into the room and approaching the older to smooth down the collar of his button-up shirt and fix a spot where Yuta had just entirely missed a button and it's hole. "It'll be fine. You're charming as hell when you're not flustered, and I'm sure he'll think you're charming as hell while you are flustered too. People like to see you fumbling around and out of your element. It's good for a laugh." 

Doyoung wasn't looking at Yuta while he spoke, clearly not wanting to see the overflowing admiration the Japanese man constantly projected through his blinding smile. Also probably because he most likely had a glint of fondness in his eyes himself. 

"Aww, Dongs." Yuta pulled him into a hug while he was still in grappling range. 

"Don't call me that." 

"Your new name is 'Yuta Hype Bot,' then," he retorted, grinning as he squeezed the other tightly. "Which do you prefer?"

"Of the two?" Doyoung deadpanned, wiggling out of Yuta's embrace, but unable to hide the slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Neither. You're going to be late."

Yuta dove toward his bed once more to find his phone inevitably buried in the sheets. He was indeed going to be late. 

\---  

"Sorry!" He said, probably a bit too loudly, breathing hard as he ran up the sidewalk to meet Taeil outside of the restaurant. "I'm so sorry. I was gay panicking," 

“You’re supposed to get that over with the day before the date, not the day of, you know.” Taeil laughed - almost a giggle really - and stepped closer to bump his shoulder with Yuta’s. “Are you good?” 

It took another moment for Yuta to collect himself; embarrassment wasn’t unusual, but… it _had_ been a while since Yuta had last been on a date, and it’d been even longer since he’d been on a date with someone he actually _liked_. 

“Yeah.” He straightened his posture a little and offered Taeil a smile. “Yeah, I’m good.” 

“Good,” the older said, wrapping a hand around Yuta’s wrist and tugging him slightly toward the restaurant. “I’m hungry. I had work stuff earlier and I skipped lunch.”

“That’s not a good habit to have,” Yuta warned, following Taeil’s pulling without much prompting. 

“I know.” Taeil rolled his eyes and spoke quickly to the man at the front of the restaurant, who guided them quickly to their table. “It’s less like I skipped lunch and more like I forgot about it.” 

Yuta understood that; as a sophomore abroad, he was often more interested in going out and doing things in the unfamiliar city than anything else and would find himself in the late afternoon at a museum having not eating since waking up that morning. Forgetfulness was relatable always. 

“Set reminders on your phone or something?” he offered, sitting gingerly and looking over Taeil’s form as he sat as well. “You look so good.”

Taeil laughed, hearty and unabashed, and Yuta thought he saw the darkness of a blush rising to the other’s cheeks. 

“You do, too. It’s almost weird to not see you in an apron with a name-tag,” Taeil teased, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward to support his head with his hands under his chin. “The whole button up with rolled up sleeves look is doing wonders for you, I must admit.” 

This was true. Although Yuta’s typical style was much more jeans and t-shirts, he knew what other styles suited him. He wasn’t a fan of formal wear like tuxedos and suits, but he loved a good button up. 

“I try to clean up for outings with good looking people,” Yuta explained with a grin. “I had to put in the effort to even let myself be seen with someone as pretty as you.” 

This time the blush on Taeil’s cheeks was evident, though hidden behind a hand as Taeil laughed once more. Yuta wasn’t exaggerating, though. Taeil was _stunning_ , and Yuta would not allow himself to be seen looking less than his best next to someone so handsome. They didn’t coordinate or anything, so Yuta had no idea what the older would wear, but he knew he’d be stunning regardless - and he wasn’t wrong; Taeil’s outfit was simple but stylish, a dark sweater paired with dark jeans, hair pushed back but falling back into place over his forehead anyway. Yuta thought Taeil would have looked amazing if he showed up in a potato sack, honestly. 

Other than the occasional flirtation, their date really did seem a lot like a friendly outing. Again, yes, it was more than a friendly outing, but it didn’t feel awkward or anything. They had their dinner and made idle conversation, elaborating on things that had been mentioned in passing via text, or asking further about each other’s interests. There was a lot of laughter shared and plenty of gorgeous smiles from both parties. Before they knew it, they were giggling their way out of the restaurant, playfully nudging each other, cheeks starting to ache from so much laughter and smiling.

“Now what?” Taeil asked, coming to stop just to the right of the restaurant doors. They could have just gone their separate ways, then, but they enjoyed each other’s company too much to let their date end so soon. 

Yuta thought for a moment before suggesting, “We could go for ice cream or something?”

The older hummed, taking Yuta’s hand and playing with his fingers while he spoke, and then lacing their fingers together and tugging him down the sidewalk once more and saying, “Ice cream sounds nice.” 

The hand holding was… nice. Yuta thought there was something inherently pleasant about holding hands with someone that make your heart beat so hard. He didn’t really want to let go when they got to the ice cream shop, so he didn’t, earning a raise of an eyebrow from Taeil and a small pleased smile. They stood, Yuta leaning back against the counter and Taeil in front of him, and made small talk about ice cream and other dessert foods - Taeil really liked ice cream, while Yuta was a fan of those small cupcakes you could shove into your mouth in one bite - during the short waiting period for their treats to be presented to them. They intertwined their fingers and told shitty jokes, Yuta only really doing it to make Taeil laugh. Something Yuta learned very early in their texting life was that Taeil was quite the fan of dad jokes - another quality Yuta found endearing and oddly fitting. 

They took their ice cream and left the shop, deciding to walk down to the nearby park. The sun was dipping behind the horizon as they walked, and it was dark out before they knew it. Once their ice cream was gone, Yuta broke away from Taeil, jogging to the small play area in the park and jumping onto a swing, calling a challenge of “I bet I can swing higher than you” behind him. Taeil didn’t accept the challenge, content to sit on the swing to Yuta’s left and laugh as the younger tried and tried to go higher and higher. 

Every date has to come to an end at some point, however, and Yuta found himself walking down the street once more with Taeil, hand-in-hand, heading towards the older’s apartment building. 

“You don’t have to walk with me,” Taeil said, but moved slightly closer into Yuta’s personal space, squeezing his hand. 

“I don’t have to, like, ingest my weight in McDonald’s every other month, either, but I still do it.”

Taeil laughed - a sound Yuta had become more than familiar with, a sound he wouldn’t mind hearing over and over forever - and shook his head at that before saying, “I guess you win this round.” 

They fell into comfortable silence for the rest of the short walk, hands warm pressed together, Yuta’s thumb occasionally swiping softly over the soft skin of Taeil’s hand. His mind wandered in the silence, giving breath to a thought of how his hands got dry in the winters and maybe he should, like, moisturize or something if they were going to hold hands a lot - emphasis on _if_. In the back of Yuta’s head, he had pushed away the thought that this could have been the worst date of Taeil’s life, that he could have blown it when he snorted so hard he almost sent water spewing from his nose, or when he dripped ice cream on himself and said “see, this wouldn’t happen if you weren’t so damn hot, making everything melt around you” to Taeil, or -- 

He was pulled from those thoughts when Taeil brought him to stop in front of one of the many tall residential buildings. He fished in his front pocket for a moment for his keycard, almost dropping it, before asking, “any reason you’d… like to come in?” 

There was almost a glint of hope in his eyes. They’d been having a great time together, neither of them really wanted to part ways, but they both had things to do the next day, they knew that. So Yuta shook his head slightly, an apologetic frown tugging at his lips.

“Another time, maybe?” he offered, turning to take both of the shorter man’s hands in his, keycard be damned. 

“Next time?” Taeil’s eyes lit up and he smiled, hopeful once more. “Maybe next time you can just come over and I’ll cook and we can watch movies or something.” 

_Next time_. Yuta liked the idea of that very much, and he verbalized that without meaning to, earning perhaps the brightest smile of the night from Taeil, who untangled their fingers and raised his arms to throw them around Yuta’s neck to pull him into a hug. The younger’s hands hovered at the small of Taeil’s back for a moment before returning the embrace. He wondered briefly if Taeil could feel his heart pounding through the combined fabrics of their shirts. He hoped not.

“Text me when you get home,” Taeil said softly, pulling back from the hug but not entirely, his hands at either side of Yuta’s neck, their faces mere inches apart. His eyes couldn’t seem to focus, eyes taking in all of Yuta’s features up close, trailing from his eyes and down his nose to his lips before darting back up to his eyes. “Okay?”

There was a moment of hesitation, Yuta taking a deep breath in and out through his nose, thinking way too hard - was that okay for a confirmation on texting him when he was home? or was it, like… a permission thing? was he reading the situation wrong? - eyes following the same path on Taeil’s face. He’d thought about kissing Taeil, let himself wonder, only briefly, what it would be like. Why the hell not?

His arms tightened around the other man as he closed the space between them, pressing their lips together for just a moment before moving back once more only to be pulled back in by Taeil’s hands on the nape of his neck. This time there wasn’t hesitance, none of Yuta wondering if he’d misread the signs, only Taeil’s hands on his neck, Taeil’s lips moving against his, both of them responsive to the other’s movements and _eager_. It wasn’t like he’d imagined - it was just a kiss, but his heart was beating so fast, his hands were pressed into the small of Taeil’s back, and he felt… something. Not to be cliche, but Yuta felt so fucking alive. It felt so right. Like he was _supposed_ to be kissing Taeil outside of the apartment building. 

They separated again after a moment, both blushing, and Taeil stepped back, letting his hands fall from Yuta’s neck. A moment of silence passed between them - shy silence, unsure - before they made eye contact again and Taeil offered him a sweet “goodnight, Yuta.” 

Yuta returned the sentiment, although more in a blurting of “I’ll text you” than a sweet farewell. His mind was swimming, buzzing pleasantly with that feeling of kissing someone so incredible, but he turned on his heel to head in the direction of his own apartment. That was probably the moment Yuta realized he was absolutely head over heels for Taeil Moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i graduated from university
> 
> anyway i thought i'd go ahead and bite the bullet and try my hand at the date! I'm not super confident but I hope it is. acceptable? i'm working on ch 5 too! hopefully that'll be up pretty soon? since i don't have classes anymore i'm trying to focus a lot on writing, both this and my portfolio pieces for my grad school applications! so the update schedule of my dreams (every monday) is basically in shambles im sorry! 
> 
> anyway say hello to dongs, he'll make other appearances in the fic from now on ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> ★ as usual find me on twitter or curiouscat @yutaeilbot ★


	6. That's an Ugly Cup but I Won't Say it Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The switch in expression from casual soft smile to deer-in-headlights would have been comical if it didn’t have a knot forming in Yuta’s stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl this formatting was a bitch so im sorry if its wonky lmao

Monday came too quickly. Yuta didn’t dread it, by any means, but he wasn’t particularly thrilled for the return of the semester. It’d be nice to get his academic muscles flexing again, he supposed, but that also meant less work hours, smaller paychecks, dipping into his savings to make sure he has his half of rent ready on time. Not a problem, just not ideal.

He always tried to keep his schedule manageable, meeting full time hours to maximize his financial aid while still giving himself time to breathe between academia and work. He always remembered one of the smartest things Doyoung had said to him being something about life being a search for balance more than anything else. He wasn’t wrong - learning how to balance responsibilities and pleasures was a skill Yuta envied and tried to stride for when his head was far enough out of his own ass.

It safe to say Yuta’s head was entirely up his own ass walking into his last class of the day; his earlier classes seemed like they’d be no problem, and he was still reveling in the post-date butterflies (even after the whole weekend). There was also an added joy in that he was eagerly anticipating an upcoming date with Sicheng, though their plans weren’t concrete yet.

I know what you might be thinking - maybe Yuta should have some hesitation or something in regards to having dates with two different people. He’d always been a verbal confirmation kind of guy, though; never wanted to make assumptions involving interpersonal relationships. Sure, he was kinda in love with Taeil, but he didn’t know if Taeil felt the same way or if they were just a fun, casual… thing. Yuta would get around to asking in due time. Until then, there was no reason for limitation.

Most of the faces greeting him in Business Ethics were familiar ones: Junmyeon, who got his girlfriend pregnant right out of high school and, through tragic circumstance, became a single father, leaving him to juggle parenthood, full time work, and trying to pursue higher education with only the help of his maybe boyfriend that Yuta didn’t know by name; Irene, the business half of a power couple with a performing arts major who had big dreams of opening an affordable powerhouse studio after graduation; Jessica, who dabbled in modelling and didn’t seem to mesh well with the other business majors; and, of course, Doyoung, just to name a few. He’d had at least one class with everyone present when he first walked in.

Regardless of the many familiar faces, Yuta took it upon himself to sit by Doyoung, earning himself a melodramatic sigh.

“Don’t I see you enough at home?” the younger groaned.

“Nope.” Yuta made sure to pop the ‘p’ of his response, pulling his phone from his back pocket before getting comfortable in the small lecture room. “You can never see me enough. There’s no such thing.”

“No lovers’ quarrels allowed, boys,” Irene chimed in from in front of them, turning her chair to lay her arms on their table. She was smirking, obviously joking.

“But if we don’t argue in public, how will we display our constant sexual tension?” Yuta asked, faking offense. “Or is that a pastime reserved for intimidatingly attractive lesbians only?”

She raised an eyebrow, challenging, and reached out to tug on a strand of Yuta’s hair, saying, “When you have a pretty boyfriend who hardly recognizes the unsubtle advances of others, you’ll understand why Seulgi and I have our moments.”

Yuta’s mind immediately went to Sicheng and Taeil. Although he wouldn’t call either of them his boyfriend, what with his whole verbal confirmation thing, but they’re both stunning. He wouldn’t have been surprised if either of them had caught someone else’s attention. He wondered briefly if they had accepted any other advances.

“You say that like you aren’t on the receiving end of peoples’ advances,” Doyoung scoffed.

“No, I’m well aware.” Irene’s attention shifted to her nails, which she studied closely. “Difference is that I can tell when someone’s trying to come onto me, and Seulgi has her head in the clouds more often than not. She’s too nice to everyone and walks right into things she shouldn’t.”

Doyoung shrugged, conceding, and the rest of the room began to fill up. There were a few more familiar faces, including Johnny (who decided to minor in business) waved to Yuta and set himself up near the door of the room - no doubt in order to sprint to whatever mass communications class was scheduled too soon after - followed closely by Taeyong (who was definitely not in the class, and would never be). Yuta liked that he knew basically the entire business department. It made the first days much easier than if he had to meet entirely new classes and teachers every time.

Speaking of teachers… Yuta wondered who would be teaching this term. He hoped for Professor Kwon; she was an amazing teacher, probably Yuta’s favorite. No nonsense but kind and humorous at times.

“Who’s teaching this?” he finally asked Doyoung, who had almost definitely done everything in his power to prep for class.

“Why do you never check?” the younger sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Someone new in the department. I didn’t know the name, so you won’t either.”

“Professors will email if they have anything important to say before the semester starts,” Yuta said, propping his elbow up on the table and resting his chin on his palm. “Thanks, though.”

His eyes flickered to the clock hanging above the classroom door, a slight nervousness settling in his stomach. He liked knowing people, liked being able to tell how a semester would go based on his knowledge of people. He didn’t like this; not just that uncertainty, but the fact that he didn’t even know the department had any new hires. Typically news like that wasn’t hush-hush, so the students would know.

“Stop that,” Doyoung snapped, reaching over to press two fingers between Yuta’s furrowed brow. “You’ll get wrinkles.”

“Fuck off about wrinkles,” Yuta grumbled with a frown, swatting the other’s hand away. “My skincare routine is phenomenal and you know it. Don’t press me about wrinkles.”

Before Doyoung had time to fire back a response, the classroom door opened once more, drawing everyone’s attention as usual. Typically people would only give a moment of their attention to whoever walked in, but something about this time made it feel like it was going on forever, dragging out that moment as the familiar face of Taeil entered the room. He looked so professional, but still casual - dark hair unstyled, falling over this forehead, round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, leather satchel slung over his shoulder, and a stainless steel tumbler in one hand.

Yuta felt Taeyong and Johnny’s gazes turn to him, but his eyes stayed trained on Taeil as the elder made his way to the front of the room. He took a look around, taking in the faces of his students, and nearly dropped his cup when his eyes met Yuta’s. The switch in expression from casual soft smile to deer-in-headlights would have been comical if it didn’t have a knot forming in Yuta’s stomach.

Taeyong snorted, the sound breaking the room’s silence and pulling Taeil from whatever thoughts had consumed him. He looked away from Yuta as he began to introduce himself to the class, trying his best to dive into first day spiels.

It was uneventful, as many first class sessions could be, but Yuta found himself very occupied between staring at Taeil as he spoke and constantly checking his phone every time it buzzed. Taeyong, Johnny, Doyoung, _and_ Ten all messaged him as Taeil gave an overview of the schedule and course goals. Yuta wanted desperately to ignore the notifications, but when he tore his gaze from Taeil’s form, he was met once by the stares of Taeyong and Johnny, and again by a nudge from his roommate.

He knew at least one of them would have questions, so he sighed inwardly, bit the inside of his cheek, and opened the first notification on the screen.

[tyong]

 _\- LOOOOOOOOOL_  
_\- LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL  
_ _\- tens gunna eat this UP_

Yuta didn’t grace that with a response and carried on. 

[dongs]

__-_ ten texted me telling me to laugh at you??  
\- i’m out of the loop_

 

_went on a date w our professor_

 

Doyoung tensed next to him, and Yuta looked over to see the other’s incredulous stare. 

[dongs]

__-_ how did you… not know you were on a date with our professor???_

 

_it didnt rly come up_

 

The younger scoffed and slid his phone into his pocket, apparently done with the conversation for the moment. Yuta moved on to the next messages.

 

[10]

 __-_ i heard a certain deer in the headlights is yr business ethics prof!!_  
_\- how dramatic ;))_  
_\- o mr moon pls can i have extra credit ;)))))  
_ _\- does this count as an ethical delimma u guys_ _can discuss in class lmao_

 

 _shut up  
_ _its fine_

 

[10]

 _\- yr words or his?_  
_\- fine to u may not be fine to him  
_ _\- good luck babe_

 

Ten… made a good point. Even though Yuta wasn’t really bothered by this revelation, Taeil could be _very_ bothered by it. Yuta could hear his pulse quicken in his ears, slowly drowning out Taeil’s sweet voice and pulling Yuta under the waves to drown in his own thoughts. What did this mean for them? How much would this change? They only went on one date, but Yuta knew he was already very deeply invested in Taeil. Besides, even if it had only been one date, they talked pretty constantly, filled their free time with texts and and the occasional facetime call.  

His phone buzzed again, thankfully pulling Yuta out of his own head.

 

[jyani]

 _ _-__ you ok?  
\- i mean you’re okay but  
_\- holy shit right_  
\--- new ---  
__\- dude you’re hardcore spaced  
___\- you good?_

 _im fine_  
_just thinking  
_ _im good. thanks john_

 

[jyani]

__-_ only my dad calls me john dude _

 

_surprise im your dad_

 

Yuta looked over quickly as his message sent, hoping to catch the inevitable quiet laugh and head shake. He wasn’t disappointed, and stuck his tongue out when Johnny looked back at him.

By this point, Taeil was winding down his speech and passing around copies of the syllabus and schedule. As the papers made their way around the room, he did a quick attendance check, calling names from the roster before dismissing everyone. He skipped over Yuta entirely.

After being told they could go, Doyoung nudged Yuta with an elbow.

“He skipped you.”

“I noticed,” he sighed. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll get it sorted.”

The pair headed for the door, but Yuta stepped away before leaving. He shooed Doyoung along before beelining for Taeil, who was shuffling papers at the front desk.

“Hey,” he called, leaning against the desk. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Taeil, in the middle of tucking extra papers into his bag, paused - only slightly, but just enough for Yuta to catch it.

“Hello,” eventually came the stiff response, followed by a moment of silence and then, “Didn’t say you were a business student.”

Yuta crossed his arms over his chest. “Didn’t say you were in the business department.”

“I did, actually,” Taeil snapped, his head whipping up to make eye contact with the other before looking away once more. His voice was soft when he spoke again. “I did. The first day we met.”

Yuta didn’t respond, choosing instead to inch slightly closer to Taeil and taking one of the smaller man’s hands in his own.

“Is it bad to say I missed you if it’s only been two days?” he asked softly, thumbs brushing over the soft skin of Taeil’s hand for a moment before lifting it to kiss his knuckles.

The elder pulled his hand back as if the brush of Yuta’s lips on his skin were an electric shock. He was quick to grab his things, to sling the leather strap of his satchel over a shoulder and clutch his tumbler in both hands, then stepped away.

“I’m sorry,” he said, eyes wide, unable to mask the slight tremble in his voice. “I have to go. I’ll text you.”

With that, he was gone.

Yuta wasn’t sure what happened more quickly: Taeil absconding or his heart sinking. They both happened in a split second, leaving him alone with only a growing sense of unease and despair in the empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh im so sorry  
> i thought graduating would rly get me to get it together but ive basically been in a depressive slump for two weeks lmao
> 
> also sorry this chapter is mostly banter and minimal drama - things will REALLY start kicking up now, though. 
> 
> stream wayv's mv uwu
> 
> find me on twitter @cherrykjngs!


	7. The Festival Episode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fireworks won’t be any fun if you’re freezing. There will be other opportunities for fireworks, too.”
> 
> “But I want to watch them with you today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS ENTIRELY TOO LONG I AM SO SORRY
> 
> thank you so much for 950+ hits and 80 kudos!! and for your comments!! you guys have no idea how much I love reading your comments, I just don't reply to them cos im afraid of literally everyone uwu it means so much to me that you're reading, and i can't express how happy it makes me that people are actually enjoying this

Taeil didn’t text him. In fact, it seemed to Yuta as though Taeil was ignoring him - not reading his texts, rejecting his calls, avoiding his gaze and leaving as quickly as he could following class. Regardless of his typical proclivity for not assuming things, it felt horribly obvious to Yuta that Taeil was finished with him.

He tried not to think about it too hard, instead focusing on other things, like the shop’s new menu items, their new hires Jaemin and Jisung (a university freshman and a highschool senior), the work already assigned in his courses, and Sicheng.

That’s not to say he wasn’t focused on Sicheng before! Just that he went out of his way even more often that he had before for them to talk. They were both pretty busy, even at the beginning of the semester, so they spoke pretty casually after Yuta got Sicheng’s number from Ten, and typically only when both of them were free, but Yuta started texting more often. He started just sending texts whenever he felt like it and also started sending specific texts during the day: a ‘good morning’ here, a ‘have a good day’ there, nightly ‘sleep well’s.

Sicheng didn’t seem to mind - he didn’t question the influx of messages or voice any complaints. He used a lot of emojis in his responses and even seemed to be texting more as well. They got comfortable together very quickly via text. The increase in their texting finally brought a breakthrough in their date planning as well, bringing them to settle on plans to attend a festival in the park rather than going to dinner.

It would give them more time to just be casual and goofy, less stress on the propriety of restaurants. Yuta had attended the festival the previous year along with Johnny, Taeyong, and Mark (Taeyong’s little brother), and the four of them had a great time eating street foods from different vendors, playing cheap festival games, and watching the fireworks.

This year the festival was the second weekend of the semester, giving Yuta another whole week to try fruitlessly to speak with Taeil and bask in his own sadness. He thought it was potentially the longest week of his life. Definitely in the top 5 saddest.

The relief he felt Saturday morning was almost palpable. Even though he wouldn’t be meeting with Sicheng until later in the day, just knowing they’d be together later made Yuta feel much better than he had the past week. A guy could only handle so much of being rebuffed by someone with such a tight grip on his heart, you know? Being with Sicheng would provide an excellent reprieve for his feelings to focus on the positive, on Sicheng’s voice and smile and whatever the two decided to do at the festival.

He spend the first 6 hours of the day at work, going through the motions of making coffee joined by one of the new hires. Speaking of which, the new hires were acclimating well, despite being so young. Jaemin made for excellent company on shift, which Yuta was greatly appreciative of. It was a more tolerable morning than many of the previous and the young man’s bright smile and gentle demeanor only added to the pleasantness.

Johnny and Jaehyun came by around noon - marking the second time Yuta had met his best friend’s boyfriend. Jaehyun was very likable; a little shy, but very sweet with cute little dimples when he smiled. He seemed the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, and Yuta noticed he and Johnny looked at each other as if they held the sun and all the stars. Seeing them was enough to melt Yuta’s heart.

What could he say? There was nothing he liked more than seeing his friends happy.

His excitement increased as the clock approached 2.. Another of the older employees, Wendy, would be coming in to take over pretty soon, and then Yuta would be free for pre-date panic. Okay, not really  _panic_ , but pre-date prep. Which would probably include panic.

The time ticked on, every minute seeming to pass slower and slower until  _finally_ Wendy arrived, shooing Yuta off with a gentle smile and a call of ‘have fun!’

The next two hours passed much more quickly than work did; Doyoung helped Yuta with his outfit again, berating Yuta for not checking the weather to dress accordingly and shouting about the importance of weather appropriate clothing from the elder’s closet. He spent entirely too long in there, complaining about Yuta's lack of style variety and grumbling about how it'll be colder at night. Yuta stayed quiet, lounging on his bed in only his jeans since Doyoung declared most of his shirts unacceptable for the occasion. For whatever reason. He focused on Instagram more than Doyoung’s fashion tirade, until the other came out of his closet with a handful of shirts slung over one arm. “Okay, up.”

“Why are you putting so much effort into this?” Yuta asked, standing and eyeing the fabrics resting on his roommate’s arm.

“Well… first of all, your date is my boyfriend’s very close friend,” Doyoung answered, holding up shirt after shirt against Yuta’s torso and comparing styles, colors, and overall aesthetics as he spoke. “Secondly, you’ve been really down and I want you to go out and have a good time unimpeded by the weather.”

Out of all the things Doyoung could have said, that was potentially the most shocking thing Yuta could have heard. They were friends - close friends - but their relationship relied primarily on banter rather than sentiment. It’d probably surprise him 50 years down the road. Assuming Doyoung hasn’t snapped and killed him by then. A bold assumption.

“Don’t cry or something,” the younger grumbled, looking over the two final options he put together for Yuta to see; one was a plain black tee with a blue button up to wear as an overshirt, and the other was a plain white button up to wear under a dusty pink sweater-vest. Yuta didn’t remember owning a sweater-vest.

Neither were bad outfit choices. Yuta made a mental note to whip them out again another time. Or just to ask Doyoung for fashion advice more often. Or to be more attentive to his clothes. Maybe all three.

“If you’re nice like this every time I go on a date, I’ll go on more,” Yuta joked, pulling on the black shirt before sliding on the overshirt.

“Do _not_ ,” Doyoung huffed, flopping dramatically onto the elder’s bed. “Two in one month is too much.”

Yuta hummed in response, amused, and searched through his limited accessories for a beanie to wear. Doyoung kept speaking from the bed.

“Besides, if this goes well, I’m sure Ten and Winwin would be more than happy to plan a ridiculous amount of double dates for us to go on, and I’m sure I will dress you for every one of them.”

The idea wasn't unappealing. In fact, Yuta thought that might be quite fun. He voiced this to Doyoung and got an eyeroll in return and a gesture to shoo. Yuta didn't have to be told twice, and called a quick 'bye' behind himself before leaving to meet with Sicheng. 

 

* * *

 

They met up at the coffee shop and walked the few blocks to the park. Yuta hadn’t gone to the city park many times - maybe four times in the two years he’d lived there - but he appreciated it’s scenery; a path twisted through the scattered trees of the main area, bordered by slopes on both sides, one leading down to a wide grassy field encompassing a lake, and the other leading up to a low stone wall encircling a children's’ play area. Typically it was a very peaceful place, but the vendors and booths lining the walkways added an entirely new dimension to the park, giving it a whole different feel and attracting many to partake in the festivities.

Being together in person had a different vibe for Sicheng and Yuta than their text conversations did. They were very casual over text, comfortable and open to talk about any- and everything with ease, but there was a slight tension surrounding them on their walk from the shop to the park. Even the thought that it was silly to be nervous seemed to make it worse for whatever reason.

It took them maybe 30 minutes to slip into a more comfortable aura, no longer sitting through the occasional lulls in conversation or standing a certain distance from one another. They playfully bumped shoulders as they walked, weaving through the crowds and exploring the expanse of the festival from end to end before really doing anything, but after their overview, they spent several hours playing games and wandering around more, interrupted by brief rests in the soft grass of the upper hill.

Yuta made a point to find the booth run by a local Japanese restaurant owner so he could buy takoyaki specifically for Sicheng to try, which the younger found wildly amusing.

“I didn’t know there was, like, an authentic Japanese place around here for like three months when I first came,” he said, spearing one of the balls with a toothpick and offering it to Sicheng. “Ten actually took me there for the first time. It really reminds me of home.”

Sicheng nodded as he spoke, eyes wide and attentive, and leaned forward to accept the food when offered, letting Yuta feed him rather than taking the toothpick and feeding himself. Something about the moment reminded Yuta of an anime he’d seen once, but he couldn’t remember which. Regardless, the thought made him chuckle to him.

“It’s good,” Sicheng said after a moment, leaning forward once more for another bite, which Yuta fed him eagerly, before laying back on the grass. “This kind of reminds me of - there’s a place in Beijing that’s a really famous, like, shopping street, called Wang Fu Jing and there’s so many food vendors there. I’ve only been once because Beijing is forever away from where I’m from, but they had stuff like candied fruits on sticks, and dumplings, and weird stuff like scorpion and seahorse skewers.”

“Oh? I think I’ve heard of it before,” Yuta said, popping one of the takoyaki balls in his mouth as well. “You’ll have to take me one day.”

His chest clenched when Sicheng smiled up at him, seeming to light up the area even more as the sun set.

“I will! Promise.”

They spent a long time walking around and playing games, eating street food and sitting on the grass, so it wasn’t a surprise to either of them when the sun fully sank below the horizon. There weren’t many stars in the city due to the light pollution, but a few twinkled into view here and there. Yuta was thankful for Doyoung’s insistence on the layers, as the chill set in. Though he noticed as they stood in the line of another vendor’s booth that Sicheng was shifting from side to side and had pulled his hands up into the sleeves of his sweater.

“Are you cold?” Yuta asked, unsurprised when Sicheng nodded. “We can go if you want.”

“Nooo,” the younger half-whined, reaching out and wrapping his arms around one of Yuta’s. “Fireworks.”

“Fireworks won’t be any fun if you’re freezing. There will be other opportunities for fireworks, too.”

“But I want to watch them with you today.”

Sicheng pouted at Yuta, scooting closer to him and letting his head rest on the elder’s shoulder, the pout never leaving his lips. How could Yuta say no to a face like that?

“Okay,” he said, smiling as he pulled Sicheng along with him when he stepped up in the line. Ever hungry, Yuta bought some more food - some kind of grilled chicken skewers - and then he and Sicheng walked their way up the upper hill to sit against the small wall of the playground.

Well - it was more like Sicheng pulled Yuta up the hill with a childlike eagerness that had them both laughing softly when they reached the top. Sicheng plopped himself down on the grass, knees bent with his arms crossed atop them. He rested his head on the soft sleeves of his sweater, but kept his head turned to look at Yuta.

Although not usually one for cliches (lie), Yuta thought Sicheng looked so beautiful just then; looking up at him with those smiling, excited eyes, face highlighted by the moonlight as the moon rose into the sky. He found himself staring, much to the younger’s amusement.

“What are you looking at so intently?” Sicheng asked, his smile morphing into a cheeky grin.

Rather than answer, Yuta just shoved the chicken skewer halfway into his mouth and let himself drop to the ground. He felt himself flush a little and hoped Sicheng couldn’t see, but, judging by the soft laugh he heard, that hope was unfulfilled.

They sat in pleasant silence, the elder occasionally holding the skewer out so Sicheng could pull a chunk of chicken from the stick. It was a nice way to wind down the evening, sitting in the moonlight and waiting for the fireworks to begin.

“Yuta,” Sicheng called after a while, causing the other to hum a little affirmation that he was listening and scoot slightly closer on the grass. His hand came to rest gently on top of Sicheng’s. Before he continued speaking, though, the first firework whistled into the air, followed by the ‘pop’ bringing a burst of color into the dark night sky.

Watching the colorful starbursts was distracting enough for Yuta to not think about whatever Sicheng might have said, though he did sneak glances at the younger, trying to soak up the visual of Sicheng’s face illuminated by the different colors. It was slightly louder than expected, but not loud enough for them to want to leave any sooner. Absentmindedly, Sicheng took Yuta’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

When Sicheng leaned his head against Yuta’s shoulder once more, Yuta wanted time to freeze. There was such a peaceful feeling, although tinged with fluttering butterflies in his stomach, and he wanted to drag it out, wanted to bask in the moment before returning to the real world. He didn’t realize Sicheng was trying to speak to him again, voice raised slightly to fight against the sound of the fireworks, but when he caught just a moment of the younger’s voice, he turned his head, their faces close, their eyes trained on one another. They held each other’s gaze, Sicheng’s words trailing off, leaving whatever he was saying to float away in the slight nighttime breeze.

The hand curling around the nape of his neck startled Yuta slightly, but not as much as Sicheng closing the distance to press their lips together. It was a chaste kiss - a peck, really - but it had Yuta’s pulse pounding in his ears, his body turning instinctually, his free hand finding its way to Sicheng’s knee and squeezing softly. They kissed again and again, each touch of their lips growing more and more bold, lingering longer and longer, pressing harder until Yuta had Sicheng laying back on the grass, smiling and giggling.

As the fireworks continued, they faded to the background; Yuta could only focus on Sicheng, Sicheng, _Sicheng_ _._ How soft his lips were, how he kept smiling into their kisses, how his hands couldn’t seem to stand still and wandered from Yuta’s neck to his cheeks to his arms to his chest. Out of all the enrapturing sights he’d seen thus far, Sicheng laid back on the grass underneath him would haunt Yuta as long as he’d live.

Eventually the fireworks ended, as all good things must, and Yuta and Sicheng still sat in the grass, giggling to one another as if they shared some great secret. They decided to go ahead and leave, holding hands as they walked back down the city block. Sicheng insisted they part ways at the coffee shop, that he’d be fine walking back by himself and it was fine, really, but they didn’t actually part until after they took a moment to kiss once more, standing outside the darkened shop windows.

Yuta watched Sicheng turn and head toward campus housing, smiling to himself before turning and heading home as well. It wasn’t as… definite as it was with Taeil, but Yuta knew that somewhere between the takoyaki and the fireworks, Sicheng had wormed his way into a permanent spot in Yuta’s heart, and would likely stay there forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> congrats if you actually read through this chapter which is nearly double in length what i typically go for. i can hear kaitlyn sighing at my inability to cut it down. 
> 
> anyway! next chapter is gonna be more taeil's pov-ish and definitely a big one as far as the plot goes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> also i feel like my writing is getting messier. thats cool ig [sobs in the corner]
> 
> ★ find me on twitter @cherrykjng ★


	8. I'm So Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sick of lying; you gotta know that. 
> 
> 'It's for the best,' he told himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> taeil pov chapter here we GO
> 
> this chapter title from apink's "I'm So Sick" which is in the top 10 best songs of 2018 thank u uwu

Taeil didn’t know what to do. Sorting through his thoughts only led him deeper and deeper into a pit of uncertainty and fear and _guilt_. God he felt guilty. Yuta deserved better; he deserved the whole world - and an explanation and apology at the very least - but Taeil just… couldn’t give him that. Rejecting his calls, deleting his unread texts, avoiding his gaze and escaping any attempt at conversation was hard. Honestly, Taeil didn’t want to do any of it, but he was swimming so deep in that pit that it was the best way he could think to handle it.

The thought process was complicated. Even though they were both consenting adults, the taboo of any kind of student-teacher relationships was so deeply ingrained in Taeil’s mind that the fear of outside perspective was mostly what ruled his decision making. Yuta was so special to him, and maybe Taeil l- felt strongly for him, but he needed the job. He wanted the job. His mind wanted him to focus on work, on self preservation and keeping himself afloat to reach stability in the city before making any risks for love.

But at the same time, he missed Yuta. As the first two weeks of the semester passed, he found it harder and harder to keep his distance. _It’s for the best_. He told himself. _This way we’ll both just detach. No need for excuses. I just need to let him go._ If only it were that simple. If only he was stronger, wasn’t a coward, could face potential negativity head on and find some way through this that worked.

It was a rough two weeks, and they took their toll on Taeil in a way that was obvious to many of his coworkers. Other business department faculty members shared concerned looks, wondered among themselves if he was okay. Was the job too much for him? Sometimes new teachers found they couldn’t handle it, and that was okay, but they’d need him to say it. The department head, Boa Kwon, took pity on Taeil and pulled him aside to talk. He said he was fine; it was just stress and he was taking longer than expected to acclimate to everything. It wasn’t like he could tell her - his boss - the truth. Boa smiled softly and nodded, though Taeil could see in her concerned eyes that she didn’t believe it, then invited him to some local event over the weekend. He thought an outing would prove beneficial for him, so he agreed, much to her delight. They exchanged phone numbers and made their plans to meet up Saturday evening.

 

* * *

 

When Saturday night rolled around, Taeil was very grateful for the outing’s distraction. It was just to see his colleagues out of the office, and Boa was kind enough to introduce him to several people from other departments: Siwon from the theatre department; Changmin and Yunho from music; Key and Taemin from performance arts; Victoria, Tiffany, and Krystal from international studies. Everyone was very kind, very welcoming, and _very_ good looking. That was something he’d noticed when he got hired - almost everyone at SMU was incredibly attractive. Sometimes he wondered if they’d made a mistake in hiring him because he felt that wasn’t a quality he possessed. He definitely felt out of place surrounded by so many beautiful people.

After introductions, the group scattered a bit. Taeil stayed with Boa mostly - or at least he wanted to - but occasionally one or two of his new acquaintances would take him by the elbow and pull him aside to a booth belonging to a restaurant they frequented or a store they favored. Taeil was grateful, both for the interaction and widening of his social circle, and for the recommendations from his colleagues. He hadn’t been on many outings, even alone, since coming to the city, so he made sure to tuck away their experiences for if he ever wanted to go to any of these places.

Before the night was over, he had several new numbers saved in his phone, as well as a few blossoming plans to be discussed later. All in all, it felt like a successful social event.

However… Taeil kept having these moments of unease. Every once in a while he swore he saw Yuta. At first he thought the image of the younger was just haunting him, but he quickly came to his senses. It would make sense for Yuta to be at a festival in the city he lived in. And if that pretty boy on his arm was his date? Well, Taeil had no right to think anything of it. That heavy pang of jealousy had no right to settle in his chest.

Who was he to feel any way about it? He made the decision to distance himself. He knew the choice he made. He had no right to feel anything but happiness for them.

But as the evening continued, Yuta’s presence weighed heavy on Taeil’s mind, and he started questioning himself. His fears were still very prominent in his head, but seeing Yuta so happy, smiling and enjoying himself, radiant as the sun and brightening everything around him… Taeil’s heart swelled. He really missed Yuta. He really wanted to be with Yuta. He wanted to march right up to him and take the place on his arm from that other pretty boy - _his_ place.

The sun had set by the time Taeil had made up his mind once more. He had heard some talk of fireworks starting soon, and considered waiting so he could hype himself up for an inevitable confrontation, but the anticipation was killing him, so he set off to find the pair. He moved swiftly through the crowd, narrowly avoiding children with sticky treats and couple sharing ice cream as he went.

It felt like it had been an eternity before he found them; the pretty boy was situated on the hill, knees to his chest and his head on his arms atop them, looking up at Yuta, and Yuta shoving some kind of meat skewer into his mouth before sitting as well. Suddenly everything felt very surreal; Taeil, heart pounding, standing a ways away from Yuta at a festival he attended due to invitation from his boss who checked up on him because he was visibly not okay because of his own stupidity. Part of him wanted to cry, but the other part of him felt like he should laugh at himself.

“Yuta!” he called after a moment, but the younger looked to the boy at his side, and the fireworks started before Taeil could try again.

 _Fuck it_ , he thought, moving once more to make his way to Yuta amongst the chaos of the fireworks. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when the pretty boy’s hand came around to cup the nape of Yuta’s neck and they kissed. Taeil should have known something like that would happen - who wouldn’t want to kiss Yuta with a backdrop of fireworks? - but it still made his heart ache.

He decided it was time to leave, and did just that, sending Boa a text along the lines of ‘sorry, I left my bathtub running’ or something equally as stupid before sprinting his way from the park. The sprint didn’t last long, as they tend to do, and he found himself pausing outside of the doors of the coffee shop Yuta worked at. His reflection in the darkened windows caught his attention, flushed and breathing heavy from the run, looking every bit as pathetic as he felt.

 _You deserve this_. He thought, glaring at his reflection. _Coward_.

After a moment, he carried on, and the sound of fireworks dulled as he began to cry. He wiped futilely at his tears, made sure to hold himself together the ten minutes it’d take him to get to his apartment. He almost made it, too - only losing his composure when he passed by his neighbor, who shot him a sympathetic look as she left the elevator he was getting in. Taeil just couldn’t handle that. As soon as the doors closed, he lifted his hands to his face and sobbed into them.

He was a fool. A fool and a coward and he’d regret letting love go so easily for years to come.

That was it, though. No more take-backs - not that take-backs were allowed in the real world anyway. Taeil felt this… numbness as he went through his nightly routine, and as he settled into bed his thoughts wandered once more to Yuta, as they so often did. Yuta happy, Yuta laughing, Yuta kissing a very pretty boy under the moonlight.

He knew Monday would bring him the biggest challenge yet in this process. He’d reached the point of no return, unable to try to work anything out with anyone, isolating himself in an unreachable place. He’d made his bed and had to lie in it. So he would.

Although his heart was screaming, berating him and insisting he fix it, Taeil knew it was for the best. Even if Yuta was special to him, even if he loved him, he needed to let him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dundunDUN! where will our heroes' story take them next!! next chapter will be Yuta again, and the chapter after that will be Sicheng >:3c 
> 
> thanks so much for reading, everyone!! your comments and kudos and bookmarks and existences mean sooo much to me u have no IDEA,,, i love hearing from yall so much ;3; 
> 
> ★ as always find me on twitter @cherrykjng ★


	9. Gotta Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He thought, briefly, there was something too peaceful about sitting in the dorm hallway - he wouldn’t mind just staying there forever, regardless of the harsh lights and the pounding picking up in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres a warning for yuta having a minor breakdown while drunk

Sadly, Yuta was forced out of his happy space Monday. Although Taeil had been cold toward him before, it seemed like the elder’s attitude was even _worse_ toward him - going from avoiding Yuta one-on-one to ignoring him entirely. Taeil never called for him during attendance checks, ignored his raised hands regardless if it was for a question or an answer, didn’t even look at him when returning graded assignments… Yuta wasn’t failing, so that was a plus, but he felt like Taeil was just being childish now. He couldn’t let this go on the entire semester.

But he still couldn’t get Taeil to speak to him. Taeil wouldn’t even reply to Yuta’s class related emails - often leading him to ask Doyoung to send the same exact email for an answer. Much to the pair’s annoyance, Taeil never failed to answer those emails.

Sicheng proved a constant space of refuge. He and Yuta started spending as much of their free time together as they could; breaks between classes turned into impromptu lunch meetings, Yuta’s work breaks frequently included sitting on the couch in the back corner with Sicheng, and his other free time often found Yuta at the dance studio pretending to do coursework but mostly watching the practices.

There was something absolutely captivating about Sicheng dancing. He was so determined, so graceful and precise. His eyes were dark in the studio mirror, brows furrowed as he watched his reflection during rehearsal. Not gonna lie, Yuta thought it was pretty hot. From his spot in the back, he got a good look at Sicheng from all angles, and spent a lot of time admiring his body-line, his proportions, the slope of his shoulders, the angle of his jawline.

More than once, Sicheng would catch Yuta staring and wink, making them both giggle. They got scolded a few times by Taemin, the instructor, but Yuta wasn’t ruled as a distraction so he was allowed to stay and continue coming back.

After the first week of October, Yuta found it harder and harder to part from Sicheng. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with the younger man, and he tried pretty hard to make it happen. After a while, it wasn’t unusual to find Yuta at Sicheng’s dorm or Sicheng at Yuta’s apartment. They’d leave together and go to one place or the other and they’d stay up into the night together, just talking and kissing and sometimes watching movies.

On movie nights, it became a common occurrence for Sicheng to fall asleep at Yuta’s apartment. He’d be worn out from rehearsal and _so_ comfy on Yuta’s bed, with the elder’s arms snug around him. It was hard to fight off sleep sometimes.

The first few times, he was embarrassed, but after some reassurance and soft smiles, he got over it pretty quick. It didn’t take long for Sicheng to be comfortable enough to just fall asleep whenever. Sometimes he’d turn in Yuta’s arms, cuddle up to him and nestle his head under Yuta’s chin and mutter sleepy “good nights.” Sicheng’s peaceful sleeping face was the recipient of Yuta’s first “I love you.” Too early? Maybe. Regret? Absolutely not.

 

* * *

 

The month of October was… good, overall. Yuta found solace in every moment with Sicheng, but he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to Taeil when he was alone with his thoughts. He wondered if Taeil hated him, if Taeil had found someone better or if he’d done something wrong or if Taeil had just been humoring him from the beginning. Yuta missed him so much; his chest would clench after thinking about him too much, sending Yuta to find distraction elsewhere.

He kept his internal turmoil to himself pretty well. Until Halloween. He should have known better than to drink with a heartbroken Johnny, but seeing his best friend so unhappy put Yuta in a perfect headspace to be easily convinced to do just about anything. Johnny and Jaehyun had… a problem. To say the least. Jaehyun’s younger brother had approached Johnny one day and said Jaehyun was cheating on him, so they broke up. “Problem” was an understatement, but that’s not the point.

The point is that Yuta found himself walking to campus fairly intoxicated after a few hours with Johnny on Halloween night. For the most part, he followed throngs of partying students to the dorms rather than his own mind. He wanted to see Sicheng. That thought took up most of his mental capacity.

Somehow he made it to Sicheng’s building unscathed and stumbled down the hall as if he did it all the time. Although at some point, the room numbers started blurring and he had to force himself to sit down at the end of the hall to steady himself. Some students going into nearby rooms shot some concerned glances his way, but he hardly noticed them. About that time was when his brain started catching up to him, and this surge of emotion just _smacked_ him in the drunken face.

He wasn’t sure when he started crying or how long he’d sat there, staring up at the off-white ceiling. It felt like he sat there forever, silent tears streaking their way down his face as he stared up at nothing, but at some point a figure approached.

Yuta barely registered the hands on his cheeks, trying to get him to look down, or the voice calling out to him. His head was spinning, pulse pounding in his ears signaling the onset of a headache he was likely to have throughout the night. He thought, briefly, there was something too peaceful about sitting in the dorm hallway - he wouldn’t mind just staying there forever, regardless of the harsh lights and the pounding picking up in his head.

“Yuta!” the voice called, panicked. “Yuta, baby, please.”

The hands on his cheeks were soft and somewhat familiar, the voice definitely familiar, though he’d never heard it like this, and when Yuta’s eyes focused once more, Sicheng’s worried face took up most of his vision. He wasn’t sure why, but the tears started once more, falling in familiar trails down his cheeks until they met Sicheng’s hands.

“Winnie.” Yuta’s voice came out rough, like he hadn’t used it in years. He reached up and laid one of his hands over one of Sicheng’s. “Winnie, I wanted to see you.”

Sicheng’s bottom lip trembled for a second before his head drooped, his hands sliding down to Yuta’s shoulders, clutching the elder’s soft t-shirt. Yuta saw little drops of water drip onto his pants, and lifted both hands to cradle Sicheng’s cheeks.

“Don’t cry,” he said and the younger looked up once more, eyes wet as well. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up,” Sicheng snapped, but there was no real bite to his voice. “You scared me. Are you… Are you okay?”

Yuta nodded, albeit slowly, and wiped the other’s tear tracks away with his thumbs. They sat there in silence for a moment before Sicheng stood and helped Yuta to his feet. Slowly, they made their way to Sicheng’s room, where the younger put Yuta to bed after several glasses of water and some pain killers.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Yuta felt like _shit_. To say the least.

His head didn’t hurt nearly as badly as he expected it to, but he felt sluggish, still tired and wanting to go back to sleep. He went to shift, but was stopped by the warm body of Sicheng pressed against him. They’d become fairly accustomed to sleeping together by now, but there was something different this time, something in the way Sicheng’s arms were wrapped around Yuta’s torso, the way he groaned softly and nuzzled closer when Yuta shifted, the furrow of his brow smoothing out once he was pleased that the shifting wasn’t Yuta getting up to leave. It was endearing, but it also made Yuta’s chest tighten almost uncomfortably.

There was a little voice in Yuta’s head that was becoming more and more preoccupied with Taeil as time passed. He didn’t know what to do about it, wasn’t sure who he could talk to about it, but he wanted to tell Sicheng. It felt a little unfair for them to be whatever they were while Yuta’s heart was hurting and half-healed.

Sicheng began to stir after a few moments, releasing his hold on Yuta’s waist and stretching out beside him before trying to blink away his own tiredness. The younger offered Yuta a smile and raised a hand to cup his cheek. They didn’t speak for a moment, just snuggled up together like that.

Yuta broke their silence, clearing his throat before starting with “I need to talk to you about something.”

Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to start off with, though, as Sicheng’s eyes widened and darted over Yuta’s face, obviously worried. Yuta took Sicheng’s face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Don’t worry,” he said, though he was worried himself. “It’s just… something that needs to be discussed, I think.”

Sicheng didn’t answer, hoping Yuta would continue without input until he had a better idea of what was going on.

“I’m in love with Taeil.” Yuta paused, pursing his lips. Sicheng wasn’t completely foreign to the name, seeing as Taeyong and Ten weren’t ones to keep to themselves, so talking about the apparently attractive, young new business professor wasn’t beyond them. “He’s… I met him not to long before you, and we hit it off, and we went on a date, but then he’s my business ethics professor and now he won’t speak to me about anything at all.”

The words continued spilling out, like a waterfall of Yuta’s thoughts and feelings, expressing his own confusion and his uncertainty, how he loved Sicheng too and didn’t know what to do, how he didn’t even know how to get Taeil to talk to him and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He didn’t stop when Sicheng called his name, instead ducking down to hide his face in the younger’s neck, muttering something about being scared and not knowing what to do at all.

“ _Yuta_.” This time Sicheng’s voice was firm, demanding of his attention, and who was Yuta to deny Sicheng that attention? “I’m glad you told me about this.”

Now it was Yuta’s turn to search Sicheng’s face, worried about what response he would get.

“I think this is something you and Taeil need to fix somehow,” Sicheng continued, raising a hand to run his fingers through the elder’s hair. His voice softened as he spoke. “I love you, too, you know. All I want is for you to be happy. Yes, I’d love to be a part of that, but I don’t want you to hold yourself back or anything because of me.”

Yuta released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and sat up abruptly - regretting it immediately when his head started pounding, but not laying down again. He stared down at Sicheng, gaze soft as he took in the other’s sleepy morning visage.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked, taking Sicheng’s hand and kissing his knuckles. “I don’t want this to make us… something else.”

Sicheng sat up as well, sitting across from Yuta with his legs crossed. He intertwined their hands and squeezed gently, trying to be reassuring. “I want you to talk to him. I want you to figure out what you need to figure out and I’ll be waiting. I’ll be here when things are fixed, and we’ll take whatever the next step is.”

They fell into a comfortable silence then; Yuta mulling over Sicheng’s words, and the younger just smiling softly at him, playing with his fingers. After a moment, Yuta nodded, and leaned forward to give Sicheng a kiss.

“I won’t make you wait long,” he said, determined, and kissed Sicheng again. “I promise I won’t be long.”

Sicheng returned the kisses happily, smiling against Yuta’s lips and nodding. “I know you won’t, but don’t rush it. I’ll be here.”

They didn’t spend the morning together like they would have on a normal day, instead Sicheng fetched Yuta some more pain killers and sent him off with some lukewarm microwaved pancakes.

Surprisingly, Yuta didn’t feel discouraged after talking with Sicheng. He felt like it was what he needed to really put his mind to it and fix the issue. Waiting for Taeil to approach him wasn’t working, so Yuta would go to him instead. It couldn’t be avoided anymore. It was time for answers.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies! i'm sooo sorry this is a billion years late i'm really going through it  
> uhhh life updates no one asked for, i finished my portfolio and submitted my application for grad school and my legal name change is official and i'm just doing documents now! also i have a job interview soon to be a substitute teacher and i am very excited for the prospect of making money lmao  
> also nct north american tour!!!!!!! ive died and ascended and all you got was this shitty coffee break chapter.
> 
> i'm going to try to upload the next chapter (which is win pov chapter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) within the next few days!! also feel free to peep my other fic that i'm going to update soon uwu its vampire au and right now it isn't sad but it'll be sad soon so prepare urselves i guess lmao 
> 
> thanks for hanging around and reading this ramble thank you for your kind comments n kudos and everything!!! it means so much


	10. dramarama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the return of confident sicheng where you'd least expect him -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what the fuck another chapter!!!!
> 
> the summary for this one should just be "in which taeil's an ass so sicheng decides to be one too"

After Yuta left, Sicheng took some time to think. Even though he wasn’t sure what more he could do, he felt like sending Yuta off with a pat on the back wasn’t enough. Sure, it wasn’t his job to do more but he wanted to help however he could, and he knew there had to be something more he could do.

He tried to focus his critical thinking skills on working out ways he could accomplish something to help, but he kept going back to how he and Yuta both casually dropped the ‘love’ bomb like it was nothing. I mean, maybe it was nothing, but Sicheng had never been much of an ‘I love you’ guy in any of his previous relationships. He liked the people he dated, but never quite got to the point of being in love with them. That made the situation a little more stressful in his mind. He didn’t want Yuta to be unhappy, but if Yuta and Taeil fixed things… where would that leave Sicheng?

 _I’ll be here_ _,_ he said. _I’ll be waiting ._

How long would he wait for Yuta? What did that even mean?

Sicheng wallowed in those thoughts a little too long for his liking, eventually having to pull himself out of them with more effort than he would have liked. Still unsure of what to do, he did what he could do best - text the people who could give him the best advice in the situation: Taeyong and Ten.

* * *

 

That’s how he ended up in front of the revolving door of one of the university’s many faculty buildings on campus. The terrible twosome’s advice was to talk to Taeil himself in a dramatic, drama-esque sequence demanding the older man get his shit together because they both obviously love Yuta. Although not the best idea when it came down to the details, but better than anything else they thought up.

As Sicheng stepped through the lobby and jogged over to catch an elevator going up to the fifteenth floor, he couldn’t help thinking about the implications this would have. Would Yuta think he went behind his back? Would Taeil shut him down immediately? When did he even get the balls to approach someone who might as well make him the other woman? Metaphorically speaking.

There were two other people in the elevator; a tall, supermodel like woman chatting away on her phone to someone named Amber, and a shorter, dark haired male who seemed terribly preoccupied with his phone. The woman stepped off at the tenth floor, leaving Sicheng and the silent man to finish the rest of the trip up in a bubble of Sicheng’s growing anxiety. They both got off on the fifteenth floor.

However, where the man stepped off and hurried off down the hallway, Sicheng was left standing in the business department lobby. Irene, who he knew as Seulgi’s long term girlfriend, was sitting at the front desk, and greeted him with a smile when she noticed him.

“Sicheng! Hi,” she called, waving. “What brings you to the business department?”

“I’m, uh,” he cleared his throat, hoping to sound a little more confident than he felt. “I’m actually looking for Taeil?”

Irene hesitated, eyes narrowing for a moment before flickering toward the hall the man from the elevator had gone down. The way her eyes took in Sicheng’s posture, his expression and body language, made him uneasy, but after a moment she gestured to the hall. “1508. On the left.”

Sicheng nodded and said a quick thank you before heading in that direction, eyes wide as he read each room number. 1508 was there, as promised, the last door on the left. That thought made Sicheng briefly remember a horror movie Taeyong and Ten had insisted he watch with them one night with an eerily similar name - he could only hope there would be no murder or revenge plots in this final left.

He knocked softly before pushing the door open and peeking his head in, only to be greeted by the man from the elevator, who grimaced when their eyes met. He was definitely worthy of Ten and Taeyong’s whispers of being attractive, but the expression wasn’t really doing him any favors.

“Hi,” he offered as he stepped in. “I’m Sicheng.” He made sure to close the door behind him.

There was a moment of silence, followed by Taeil sighing and saying, “I suppose you know who I am, then.”

Sicheng wasn’t 100% sure what he meant, having only become explicitly aware of the man’s presence very recently. Before then, Taeil was only a whispered name to him, no one of interest.

“I guess, yeah.”

Silence took over once more, and Sicheng took the moment to move to stand in front of Taeil’s desk. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest, steeling himself for the conversation to come.

“You know me?” Sicheng asked, though his voice came out softer than he wanted.

Taeil smiled at him, a cold and unwelcoming smile that made Sicheng’s blood boil. “I know you’re Yuta’s boyfriend.”

 _Boyfriend ._ They’d never called each other that, never labeled themselves as such - Sicheng understood why now. He mirrored the cold smile.

“No,” he laughed, trying to push every bit of venom he could muster into the word. “Not quite.”

Another tick of silence passed. Sicheng decided to sit in one of the chairs in front of Taeil’s desk, crossing his legs and letting his smile fall. He wasn’t sure what his expression looked like in the moment, but he hoped it was unamused and very unhappy. That’s how he felt - unamused, unhappy, _disrespected_. There was nothing about Taeil in this moment that gave him any idea why someone as kind as Yuta would even bother with him.

“Because of you.”

“Excuse me?” Taeil retorted incredulously. “Because of _me?_ ”

“Mhm, you’re excused.” Sicheng raised a hand and pretended to examine his fingernails. “Yuta’s in love with you.”

The look of shock on the elder man’s face was priceless. Sicheng thought he was a fucking fool.

“And you’re in love with him, yeah?”

“I don’t--”

“I’m not finished,” Sicheng interrupted, straightening his posture and leaning forward towards the desk. He hadn’t intended to be rude when he came to see Taeil, but Taeil’s attitude certainly seemed to warrant it. “Here’s the deal, okay?”

Taeil leaned back in his chair, as if trying to keep some distance between himself and Sicheng.

“I love him. You love him. He loves me. He loves you,” he started, standing once more and coming around to the other side of the desk, fingers trailing on the polished wood. His movements were slow, almost predatory - he was so thankful for the muscle control dancing for so many years granted him. He could almost see Taeil gulp harshly as he approached, and definitely noticed the elder’s eyes widen. “You’re ruining this, you know.”

Silence came once more as Sicheng completed his route to the desk. He propped one hip against it, resting his weight on the table and leaning in a way he hoped oozed self-assurance and power. In his abrupt surfacing of confidence, Sicheng had planned out a very dramatic scene - one Taeyong and Ten would be proud of, honestly - and made sure to place himself just close enough to reach out and touch the collar of Taeil’s nice button-up. He ran his fingers gently over the fabric, as if smoothing it out, focusing his attention on that action before meeting Taeil’s eyes again. He leaned forward once more, definitely too close for Taeil’s comfort and murmured, “Don’t be a _pussy_ , Taeil.”

Taeil looked taken aback, staring at Sicheng with an open mouth and wide eyes. Sicheng knew he was coming off pretty strong, knew he wouldn’t act like this on any other occasion - but he felt powerful. He felt like he had Taeil’s attention in the palm of his hand, the elder wrapped around his little finger.

“Fucking talk to him,” he said, pushing away from Taeil harshly, sneering. “He’s upset - he’s been upset this whole time. If you don’t have the gall to work this out and at least give him a proper farewell instead of trying to pretend he doesn’t exist, you don’t deserve to be here. There’s no room for cowards in the real world, especially not in a university system that would gladly put you out for completely ignoring a student because you’re in love with him.”

Sicheng stood again, patting Taeil’s stiff shoulder as he did so, and grabbed a pen from the desk. After finding the nearest piece of paper with no regard for it’s content, he scribbled his phone number on it.

“If you need help getting your panties out of their twist, I’d be glad to help,” he tells Taeil, smirking and leaning forward again to press a mocking kiss to his temple. There isn’t a moment left for Taeil to gather himself and reply before Sicheng is leaving, swaying his hips as he goes, internally hoping his act lit some fire under Taeil’s ass to grow up.

By the time he exits the building, he’s exhausted, and breathes deeply a few times just outside the revolving door. Part of him wonders briefly if he’d regret how he’d handled that, but another part of him thought Taeil was pretty cute with his shocked deer in the headlights face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tag urself im sicheng walking into the business department all nervous and walking out swaying his hips cos he knows he's a bad bitch
> 
> ngl im pretty ready to be done with this fic - there's only a few more chapters after this. we'll have yuil's confrontation and then at least one more, if not two, about everyone picking up the pieces and then how the three of them fit together in the end
> 
> thanks for your comments n kudos n EVERYTHING!!! 
> 
> ★ as always find me on twitter @cherrykjng ★


	11. Iris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You and I both know there’s more between us than business ethics, Mr. Moon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good afternoon this is much shorter than i wanted it to be but  
> hey  
> what can u do
> 
> thanks for 1600+ hits??? and so many kudos and comments and /augh/ im cryn

Unbeknownst to him, Yuta went to see Taeil not too long after Sicheng did. Yuta wanted to figure it all out, he wanted to get it sorted quickly and go back to Sicheng as soon as he could. He thought it was unfair that the younger had to put up with this.

Irene didn’t even stop him when he marched out of the elevator and down the hall to the last door on the left. She wasn’t 100% on whatever was happening, but she knew better than to interrupt Yuta with such determination on his face.

He wasted no time, walking into Taeil’s office and saying “We need to talk.” He hoped his voice was steadier than he thought it was. “We can’t go on like this.”

A moment of silence spread between them while they both contemplated their next moves. Yuta wanted to put everything on the table - wanted to explicitly lay things out and then have Taeil’s reaction. He just wasn’t sure how to best go about that. Unfortunately Taeil beat him to speaking again, and initiated in an entirely different and not particularly preferred way.

“You’re in love with me.” It was just a statement. A single declaration the elder hung in the air between them. A challenge of sorts.

A challenge Yuta would rise to and surpass.

“I am.” His mama didn’t raise a boy who would shy away from the truth after deciding to sort shit out. “If you don’t feel the same way, that’s fine. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”

Yuta paused for barely a moment before finishing, “but you need to look me in the eyes and say it honestly.”

Taeil blinked rapidly, seeming to look anywhere but at Yuta. Yuta could see the clench of Taeil’s jaw, the way he kept twiddling his fingers. They both knew he couldn’t do it.

“Tell me honestly that you don’t feel something for me and I’ll leave you alone. I won’t look at you. I won’t try to contact you. We can communicate through Doyoung as you’ve insisted on doing this far… but you have to fucking mean it, Taeil.”

The elder cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. After a minute ticked by, and another, Yuta grew frustrated. He stomped by the desk to stand directly at Taeil’s side and spun the chair in place to turn Taeil to look at him. They locked eyes for a half a moment, Taeil’s full of surprise.

“You and I both know there’s more between us than business ethics, Mr. Moon.” His voice was soft as he spoke, his hands gripping the arm rests of the chair as he leaned forward ever so slightly to be on more even ground with Taeil. “If there wasn’t, you wouldn’t have tried so hard to avoid me.”

Taeil gulped - Yuta just barely caught the movement of his adam’s apple as he did so - but his reply wasn’t what Yuta had hoped for.

“What about Sicheng?”

“What about him?” the younger snapped, grumbling under his breath. “I’m only here because of him, because he doesn’t deserve to come find me drunk in his dorm hallway making hungover confessions that I’m in love with my professors more than once. He didn’t even deserve it the once.”

When Taeil didn’t reply, Yuta continued.

“Because I love him as much as I love you, and he encouraged me to try to get this fixed for my own good. Because he’s  _waiting_   _for me._ ”

Again, a moment of silence stretched between them and Taeil’s eyes searched Yuta’s expression. For what, he wasn’t sure, but Yuta watched his eyes dart over his face. Finally, Taeil licked his lips and inhaled deeply.

“You know I can’t say that to you.” His voice came out small, and he looked away again, lips pressed into a thin line. “But I’m your professor, this isn’t… something we can just… do whatever with.”

Yuta straightened up, putting his hands on his hips. “Is that all? ‘Cause I’ll march right into Kwon’s office right now if the only issue is our designated status differences. We both know you wouldn’t treat me any differently as far as this class goes. I know this job means a lot to you, but I…”

“I didn’t want to push you away,” Taeil said when Yuta trailed off. “I panicked. I panicked and then I saw you and Sicheng kissing and I thought - oh, he’s moved on.”

“No, no, no.” The younger’s eyes went wide, and he leaned down once more, this time holding Taeil’s cheeks gently in his hands. “I didn’t know what we were for sure and then the way you ran away from me on the first day and then you weren’t speaking to me and if we were just casual I thought it’d be okay.”

“I don’t know what we’d be now.”

“We could just be us now.”

“But Sicheng --”

“We could be us and then we could be us with Sicheng.”

There was another moment of silence between them before Taeil’s hands came up to rest on top of Yuta’s. He closed his eyes and seemed to lean into the younger’s touch, brows furrowed as he tried to think.

“I do love you.” It came out as a whisper, but even that made Yuta’s heart soar.

They were kissing before Yuta could stop himself - their lips pressing together once, twice, three times, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Again, Yuta couldn’t help but think he was meant to be kissing Taeil, even though the situation wasn’t preferrable. After a moment, Yuta felt a sort of wetness drip against his fingers, and pulled back to see Taeil was crying. He wiped away the tears, smiling softly and kissing the elder’s lips once more, then his cheeks, his nose, his eyelids.

“I’m so sorry,” Taeil said, voice thick with tears. “This is all my fault.”

Yuta shushed him gently, continuing to wipe away his fresh tears. “No. It’s mine, too.”

It was difficult to tell what they should do. Being together would have been optimal, of course, but Taeil still worried about his job, and Yuta didn’t know how to fix that other than for them to just go for it and be careful. He had one more semester before graduating - 6 months where they’d still be teacher and student. Secretive wasn’t preferred, but Yuta thought it’d be worth it to be with Taeil. He really did.

He didn’t want to press it, but once Taeil calmed down again, they talked more. They talked about the potential of keeping it a secret or maybe not being together until Yuta graduated - which neither  _ liked _ _,_ necessarily, but it seemed like the safest option - and they talked a little about Sicheng.

“He’s scary,” Taeil admitted after telling Yuta about the other boy’s visit earlier in the day. “But, like, really good looking. You sure know how to pick them, don’t you?”

They shared a laugh before Yuta said, “It’s more like they know how to pick me, I think. Somehow two of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen came into my life around the same time and got me to fall in love with them.”

Taeil blushed a little - just a faint tinge of pink Yuta could see in his cheeks - and shushed him half-heartedly.

In the end, they stayed most of the afternoon in Taeil’s office. Yuta hadn’t intended on doing so, but it was hard to part with Taeil now that they we’re speaking once more. It was just as easy being with him, talking with him, soaking up his smiles and laughter as it was before the semester started, and that just cemented in his mind that the hold Taeil had on his heart was there to stay. Maybe he was even more in love with him than ever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading i love you  
> next chapter soon promise uwu 
> 
> as always find me on twitter @cherrykjng and stan ateez. and also be my friend im just shy


	12. Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is fucking. stupid long. it's crazy long. and i am so sorry.  
> i hate myself and this entire chapter

Yuta made sure to talk to both Sicheng and Taeil about non-monogamy in as much detail as he could. He stressed the importance of communication and trust and, most importantly, “you don’t have to date each other, but I’d like for you to date me.” That was a big point for him to make. Although he never asked for any details about Sicheng’s visit to Taeil’s office, it was reasonable enough for Yuta to assume they wouldn’t want to have a relationship beyond a potential acquaintanceship. Taeil insisted a few times that he wouldn’t mind if all three of them spent time together, but Yuta was uncertain; the last thing he wanted was to put someone in an uncomfortable position. 

That is to say, Yuta definitely didn’t expect both of them to pop into the coffee shop about a week after the confrontation(s).

They didn’t come in at the same time, though - Taeil came in about noon, during one of the shops slower times, and ordered the same iced americano as the last time he was there that Yuta still hadn’t tried. Johnny deemed it acceptable for Yuta to slack off on the clock again, and shooed the pair away to chill out on the couch in the back like usual. They were comfortable there, laughing and talking with Taeil pulled close to Yuta’s side for about five minutes before the elder stood and scurried over to the counter once more to whisper something to Johnny. 

Typically, this wouldn’t raise any eyebrows for Yuta, but the mild shock and the way Johnny’s eyes darted over to him and back had him narrowing his eyes. He curious, and there was a weird feeling bubbling in his stomach, but he didn’t ask about it, instead choosing to pull Taeil to his side once more when he returned. 

Maybe five more minutes passed before the bell above the door jingled, signalling another arrival, and when Yuta saw Sicheng come in, he felt the appearance of both men couldn’t have been a coincidence. Sicheng grabbing an already made drink from Johnny and heading straight back towards the couch merely solidified that thought. Taeil grinned slyly when Yuta looked at him. 

“Nice day for a coffee,” Sicheng said, first sitting in one of the chairs opposite the couch and taking a sip of his drink. A little smirk played at the corners of the Chinese man’s lips. “Wouldn’t you agree, Taeil?”

“Absolutely,” Taeil agreed from Yuta’s side. The eldest pecked a kiss to Yuta’s cheek before excusing himself to the bathroom, but when Sicheng stood immediately after and took Taeil’s place on the couch, Yuta thought that was potentially fabricated as well. 

“You two seem to be getting along,” the Japanese man noted as Sicheng nestled into his side, drink in hand. “I’m thankful.” 

“He’s nice, I guess.” Sicheng sipped absently from his drink and Yuta draped an arm around his shoulders. “We got off on the wrong foot, so I’m… weary, but I don’t think he’s a bad person. What did you guys decide to do about the whole student/teacher thing?” 

Yuta grimaced. Half a week after they reconciled, Taeil had gotten an email from Professor Kwon, the department head. She said there were rumors floating around about seeming unfair treatment of a student due to “a lack of emotional control,” and - in no vague terms - told Taeil that the department would definitely boot him if he didn’t get his act together. Not long after that email, she went to his office directly, and he spilled the beans on the whole situation. 

The good news? He wouldn’t get fired if he and Yuta were involved romantically. Neither of them were sure how exactly that was coinciding with the overall rules of the university, but Boa made it known that the department was in charge of their own faculty, they didn’t care, and as long as no scandal of some type arose, there were no arguments to their relationship. 

The bad news? There were some people who weren’t overly fond of the idea of a professor being involved with a student. Some older professors who insisted it was unprofessional, there was too much room for favoritism, a new hire shouldn’t be allowed such liberties. They made their opinions known very obvious. Luckily, those people were the minority, and the rest of the faculty had begun teasing Taeil to no end.

There were… boundaries they set in great detail with each other after Boa granted them freedom. They agreed no big pda on campus - a peck on the cheek, sure; holding hands, acceptable; hug, maybe - and especially none in the department building. They weren’t secretive about their relationship; just cautious.

Anyway, Yuta relayed that information to Sicheng, who had been recently spending more time in the studio than in his dorm and had practically been MIA for the past week. He was tired when he had time to talk, and Yuta wasn’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to start talking about his other boyfriend when he figured Sicheng and Taeil were just on “okay” terms. 

“Well, that’s good.” Sicheng smiled - Yuta could tell it was genuine - and rested his head on Yuta’s shoulder. “I’m glad there isn’t, like, a big problem there. I know you were worried about it. I told you it’d work out, didn’t I?” 

“You say everything will work out,” Yuta scoffed, teasing. “Don’t get smug.”

“I’m always right, though!” the younger insists, butting his head gently against Yuta’s. “Everything works out one way or another, and, therefore, I am right.” 

Taeil joined them once more then, taking the seat across from the table that Sicheng had taken originally. He smiled at the sight of Yuta and Sicheng together, and Yuta thought that alone was a good sign. 

* * *

November continued like that. Sometimes Sicheng and Taeil would manage to set up group hang out times, though they typically didn’t last long. 

Yuta thought that he noticed a change in Taeil’s behavior specifically as the time passed. The more the three of them were in each other’s company, the more often Taeil’s eyes would wander over Sicheng, the less space he left between all three of them, the closer he got to absentmindedly initiating skinship regardless of who with. Yuta watched Taeil open up to Sicheng, and vice-versa, even if Sicheng would take more time to grow into it. 

The passing of the semester also meant the approach of exams. The dance department typically held an end of term showcase the first week of December as a part of their exam, and Yuta was practically buzzing with excitement as that date approached. He invited Taeil to come along, and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of hesitation and almost… excitement of Taeil’s agreement to come. Yuta had also extended an invitation to Johnny, who groaned and launched into an internal debate about how Jaehyun was likely to be there so he wasn’t sure if he’d go. In the end they both knew he would, though. 

And they were right. There was no way he’d leave the terrible twosome hanging when he’d been to every single show they’d ever had any say in even if they weren’t in it. So, when the evening of the showcase was upon them, Yuta promised Johnny he would be a human shield between him and Jaehyun if he needed it, but Johnny wasn’t convinced, mostly because he knew Yuta would be glued to Taeil for the evening and then be glued to Sicheng after the show. He assured Yuta that he’d just play hide and seek if it came down to it. (Which it did. After the show Yuta caught Johnny out of the corner of his eye slipping behind some curtains, and watched with amusement as a confused looking Jaehyun rounded the corner only moments later.) 

The showcase went off without a hitch. Yuta took turns between watching the actual performances and watching Taeil’s expressions as the show went on - he was amazed by a lot of the stuff, even saying a few times he couldn’t believe just a bunch of college kids could put together something of 5-star professional quality. The elder gaped when Yuta told him this wasn’t even their top tier performance. Taeil muttered something about his lack of talent during college, even though Yuta knew for a fact that was a lie. 

Afterwards, they waited around the backstage exit for Sicheng to come out, chatting and laughing until the tallest of the three came skipping - yes. skipping - up to them and tossed his arms around Yuta’s neck from behind. The three of them burst into a moment of surprised laughter before Yuta turned around and lifted Sicheng in a hug before spinning him around. Once his feet were back on the ground, Sicheng grabbed Yuta’s cheeks and kissed him quick once, twice. 

Typically, Yuta was careful about the levels of pda he and Sicheng would show when Taeil was around, but the fond smile on Taeil’s face while watching the two of them gave Yuta the idea that Taeil didn’t really mind. They stood in the back hallway for a bit, talking about the show and showering Sicheng in praise while he grinned and blushed with his bag slung over his shoulder until his stomach gurgled loudly.

“Dinner?” Taeil offered, holding a hand out in another offer to take Sicheng’s bag for him. Although hesitant, the youngest did let the bag slide into Taeil’s hand and took a moment to stretch his post-performance aching muscles. “My treat.” 

“I will never in my life say no to free food,” Sicheng said, smile bright as the three of them left. 

Sicheng, to everyone’s surprise, insisted on sitting by Taeil at the restaurant. Yuta raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but all he got in response was Sicheng grinning and latching latching himself onto Taeil’s arm in the booth. He was oddly affectionate the entire time, much to Taeil’s confusion and Yuta’s rising suspicion, but there didn’t seem to be a punchline - no practical joke, no gag. It made Yuta’s heart do a funny flip seeing Taeil and Sicheng seeming so… close. 

It was on the walk home afterwards that Yuta braved the waters to ask what was up.

“Nothing?” Sicheng said in that angel voice that definitely meant he knew something Yuta did not. “Can I not cling to Taeil sometimes?” 

“I didn’t think you’d want to,” Yuta answered, side-eyeing him as they walked. “Are you guys, like… cool?” 

Sicheng giggled and leaned over a little closer to whisper something to Taeil, who definitely blushed - illuminated by the streetlamps. Yuta’s heart gave a little thump. Were they close now? Like, friends? Or maybe, like, possibly more than friends? He shook his head at that thought. Friends would be good enough for him. 

“You remember, like, a week ago when I said I was bored but you were at work but then I didn't say anything else, like, all day?” Sicheng asked, sliding smoothly from Taeil’s side to Yuta’s. Yuta nodded warily. “I told Taeil I was bored, too, and he invited me over and... Well, like, we were looking for a decent time to talk to you about it, right, but maybe there was some extracurriculars going on.” 

Yuta’s heart jumped again. “What the fuck does that even mean?” 

“You know, extracurriculars with the student body.” Sicheng gave an awful eyebrow wiggle. Taeil screeched indignantly and slapped Sicheng’s upper arm. 

“That is misleading and you know it!” 

“I do.” 

Yuta stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, looking between the two as the wheels in his head turned slowly. So slowly. Until, finally, after a moment of looking at Sicheng’s grin and Taeil’s blush - he got it.

“Oh.” He said, eyes widening. “ _ Oh .  _ Jesus, shit, what?” 

Sicheng laughed, a loud laugh that made both Yuta and Taeil smile. He didn’t answer any more, instead letting Taeil take over.

“What he means is,” the eldest cleared his throat nervously. “I mean, you know you can’t just…  _ not _ fall in love with him, right?” 

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Yuta chuckled, glancing between the two again. “But, like, how much of these extracurriculars did I miss out on?” 

Taeil groaned and slapped Yuta’s arm too, grumbling “Can we not call things that ever!” 

“You know, just a kiss here, a stolen sweater there. Nothing too exciting,” Sicheng answered in his stead, smiling softly. “We wanted to talk to you about it together, but… with the showcase coming up there just wasn’t a good time, and he’s very clingable, and you know I’m not one to deny myself the simple pleasures in life.” 

“I mean, that is literally the least of my worries right now,” Yuta said, nerves kicking up a bit. “What does this… mean?” 

“Well, you kept telling us we don’t have to date each other, but maybe we’d like to,” the youngest answered, taking Yuta’s hand and playing absently with his fingers as he spoke. “Maybe we just needed some time to know each other and maybe that time was, like, here and there over the course of a hectic month and then a solid four hours alone together.” 

Yuta heard Taeil laugh, and couldn’t help but smile. There was no problem with that, and he made sure to voice that very loudly, followed by smiley kisses and tight hugs right there on the empty sidewalk. It was unexpected - completely unexpected - but Yuta felt like he could explode. To see the men he loved growing the same love for each other was practically a dream come true. 

He took their hands and turned heel, dragging them in the vague direction of Taeil’s apartment rather than to campus to take Sicheng back to the dorm as planned. There was too much excitement buzzing in the air for them to part ways within the next 30 minutes. Maybe even the next few hours, regardless of the time. 

“What’re you doing?” Taeil laughed, following as Yuta pulled them along. 

“Your place.” 

Taeil and Sicheng shared a look before Sicheng asked, “Why?”

“Would rather lay on the shitty couch with both of you for several hours than take you back to the dorm.” 

Yuta tried not to talk too much on the way there. He could hear Taeil and Sicheng - his  _ boyfriends _ , the men he was in love with - saying something to each other, but his only thought was about how unfitting their scenery was, how the moon wasn’t visible and the only light was the streetlamps but their future looked so damn bright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGAIN IM SORRY FOR THE LENGTH AND FOR RUSHING IT BUT LIKE. you know at an amusement park theres a ride you wanna ride over n over n over again? this was that ride. but now i dont want to ride it again. so i wanted to finish it lskhdfs
> 
> plus, honestly, i didn't think i could pull several decently meaty chapters out of what little mush was in my head so i just stuck the big chunks together and gave you like,,,, too much. sorry friends
> 
> one more little bit will follow detailing taeil and sicheng's day together uwu u kno what i mean uwu uwu uwu
> 
> this is the ending except for that and i am sorry. endings are not my forte


	13. bored

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although impromptu, a visit with Taeil didn’t sound like a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you go - the winil fluff chapter to fill in some stuff and things

_yu :(_

 

_[nyancatmoto]_  

__\- winnie :(?_ _

 

 

_i’m bored  
_ _can i come over? or can you?_

 

_[nyancatmoto]_

__\- im at work :(_ _

 

 

Sicheng groaned, letting his head flop back over the edge of his bed. He finally had some free time between the end of the semester showcase rehearsals, and his boyfriend was at work. The universe surely had it out for them; the most time they’d had together over the past three weeks was brief, and often with Taeil there as well.

Taeil.

Now that was an idea.

 

_hey_

 

_[moonil]_

__\- hi_ _

 

 

_i’m bored_

 

_[moonil]_

__\- I'm sorry?_ _

 

 

_yuta’s working  
_ _entertain me :(_

 

_[moonil]_

__\- how do you suggest I go about doing that?_ _

 

 

_dunno. use your professor brain to come up with something_

 

_[moonil]_

_\- o...kay?  
_ _\- I mean, I’m doing some stuff but if you’re desperate my door is unlocked._  


 

_bet  
_ _send your address i’ll be there in 30_

 

_[moonil]_

_\- wait what  
_ _\- I mean, okay though here_

 

_[moonil shared a location with you]_

 

Although impromptu, a visit with Taeil didn’t sound like a bad idea. Over the few times Sicheng had been able to be around him recently, it was easy to see the elder wasn’t a bad guy by any means. He could be foolish, and he had his own weird things, but didn’t everyone?

Regardless of Yuta’s insistence that he and Taeil didn’t need to be close, Sicheng was curious about the elder, to say the least. He had his reservations, sure - you would too if you met the same way they did - but he _was_ interested in seeing how they’d mesh in private. Just the two of them.

He was just satisfying boredom and curiosity at the same time. That slight jump in his pulse was merely the nerves of going to someone’s place for the first time. Not because of Taeil. Absolutely not. He made sure to grab his keys and his phone before leaving, and had just stepped past the boundary of campus when Taeil texted him again.

 

_[moonil]_

__\- you’re not allergic to anything are you_ _  
_\- like peanuts or something_

 

_no?_

 

_[moonil]_

_\- thank fuck  
_ _\- I’d have to clean a lot more if you were_   
_\- peanuts are a great snack lots of protein_

  

_i’ll keep that in mind_

 

Sicheng shook his head, letting his feet guide him down now familiar city streets towards Taeil’s apartment building. Turned out Seulgi and Irene lived in the same building - which Sicheng had visited previously once or twice at Seulgi’s request - so he didn’t need his map or anything, which was nice. He really liked how easy to navigate the city was after living there a few months.

The first thing he noticed once he was actually in Taeil’s apartment was how nice it was. The dorms weren’t bad, perse, but even compared to the two bedroom apartment Yuta shared with Doyoung, the place was nice. The door opened into a small entryway that led straight into the living room, where a slightly beat up couch sat in front of a wide window, adjacent to a comfortable looking armchair and across the room from a fairly large tv. From there, the kitchen was on the right, and a hallway to left led to the bathroom and bedroom.

“You good?” Taeil asked, eyeing Sicheng suspiciously at the younger’s seeming inspection of his home.

“Your place is nice,” Sicheng answered, still taking in the minimal decoration as Taeil gestured for him to step in further. “Really nice. Have you ever been to Yuta’s?”

Taeil nodded and hummed a noise in affirmation. “Once.” Sicheng noticed the apples of his cheeks darken slightly.

“I’d rather spend time here than there.”

“It’s smaller,” the elder muttered, plopping down in the armchair and leaning forward toward a small coffee table, the end housing a laptop and smothered in papers. Sicheng watched intently as Taeil slid on a pair of circular, wire-rimmed glasses and ran a hand through his hair. There was something… very pleasant about the aesthetics happening.

“Is that school stuff?” Sicheng asked, lowering himself gently onto the couch, on the end closest to Taeil’s armchair. He didn’t peek at the papers even though he wanted to - if it was schoolwork, he had no business sticking his nose into it. Taeil nodded once more.

“Just give me a minute and I’ll put things away. We can watch a movie if you’d like,” he offered, not even glancing at Sicheng as he spoke. It was clear that he wanted to finish up what he was doing and give his attention to Sicheng, even though he had given a warning he’d be doing stuff. It was an understandable feeling; having guests, even potentially unwanted ones, always made Sicheng want to give them his undivided attention as well.

He didn’t answer, instead just watching as Taeil finished up his work and started shuffling the papers into a neat stack. The way he scooped up both the papers and the laptop was definitely a practiced motion, Sicheng thought before shaking his head at himself when he realized he’d been staring that whole time. Quickly, he glanced towards the television, where a small shelf of dvds sat to the side.

Deciding that was worth exploring after Taeil’s movie suggestion, Sicheng softly made his way to crouch in front of the small cabinet so he could look over the elder’s movies. The genres were varied, ranging from superhero movies to horror, a few rom-coms sprinkled in. Sicheng was actually kind of glad to see there weren’t any noticeable dramas; he was a sucker for dramas, especially a good period piece, but he always cried watching them. It was a potential embarrassment he was happy to avoid.

“Sicheng?” Taeil’s voice was very close when he called out, and Sicheng turned to see him leaned over right behind him. How had he not noticed? “I know I don’t have many - I don’t buy dvds often - but I have Netflix, too?”

“I’m not picky!” the younger insisted, standing once more with a smile. “You can pick, since I, like, forced my way into your plans today.”

“I don’t mind. I’d choose having company over handling my responsibilities any day.”

“Spoken like a true adult.”

That’s how they ended up on the couch giving oddly specific critiques of _Lord of the Rings_. After the first maybe twenty minutes, Sicheng flopped over on the couch, using Taeil’s thighs as a pillow without a break in his rant on the lost opportunity of an Aragorn prequel movie.

Taeil found himself staring as Sicheng made himself comfortable. He still wasn’t sure exactly what possessed him to offer for Sicheng to come visit, especially not so short notice, but he didn’t regret it or anything. In fact, he liked spending time with the younger boy - their brief interactions thus far had grown from sharp glances and cold speech to warm eyes, warm words, warm smiles.

Or maybe that was just Taeil.

There was definitely an allure to Sicheng, one that Taeil was practically powerless against as they came to get to know one another. Even in the Chinese man’s fierce protectiveness, there was such an endearing quality that Taeil could find no fault in how guarded he was at first. He was naturally soft spoken, but commanded attention that neither Taeil nor Yuta had qualms giving him; his smile was radiant and his laughter contagious.

On second thought, that growing warmth was definitely just Taeil.

He hadn’t realized Sicheng had been speaking to him until the younger reached up and poked his cheek, bringing him from his thoughts. The pout on Sicheng’s face made Taeil’s heart to a little jump. How could he be so cute?

“I’m _cold_ ,” Sicheng said, his tone that of someone who was repeating himself for the millionth time.

“Do you want a blanket? There’s some in my closet if you want me to go grab one.”

At that, Sicheng smiled, though there was a sparkle of mischief in his eye. He stood slowly, shaking his head and saying he’d go get one, if that was okay. What was Taeil gonna do? Say no?

While Sicheng was fetching a blanket, Taeil let himself fall into his own thoughts once more. There was something about Sicheng walking around comfortably in his apartment that really had his mind racing. He wouldn’t mind having movie marathons full of heated discussion more often, especially not with such a fiery and invested conversation partner.

Once Sicheng was back, he laid himself on the couch once more, this time on his back, and went back to using Taeil’s thighs as his pillow. It took a minute for Taeil to realize the other hadn’t actually come back with a blanket.

“Is that mine?” Taeil asked, raising an eyebrow as his eyes wandered down to the dark blue sweater Sicheng magically appeared in.

“Yes.” The answer was firm, succinct, and Taeil couldn’t find it in himself to feel anything other than this vague fuzzy feeling in his chest. “It’s very soft.”

With that, the movie resumed, but Taeil was more focused on the man in his lap. The sweater was big on him, so he wasn’t surprised that it fit Sicheng well - maybe it was a sign from the universe that the sweater was meant for Sicheng instead, but that thought just made Taeil want to keep it in his closet regardless, so the younger would have to come back again and again to pull it from the closet. This time, he didn’t even realize he was staring (or that the movie had paused again) until Sicheng poked him once more.

This time, when his eyes focused back on reality, Sicheng was staring up at him, lips curved into a soft smile.

“What are you staring at?” he asked, almost coyly. “I can feel your muscles tensed, you know.”

Taeil inhaled deeply before responding with, “It’s nothing. I just happen to be a connoisseur of beautiful things is all.”

Sicheng giggled - _giggled_ \- and bit his bottom lip, definitely coyly. He reached up with one hand, gently touching his fingertips to Taeil’s cheek.

They kind of stared at each other for a moment, then, and Taeil found himself in disbelief that Sicheng was so comfortable with him. After how they met, he didn’t even expect the other man to become friends with him - but there he was, laying on Taeil’s couch, his head on Taeil’s lap, hand on Taeil’s cheek and it would be so  _so_  easy to just lean down and kiss him. And Taeil wanted to.

In the end, Taeil didn’t kiss him. Instead, it was Sicheng who propped himself up with one hand and moved the other to pull Taeil in by the nape of his neck. It was soft, just a gentle press of their lips, but in that moment Taeil felt the plushness of Sicheng’s lips, the way his face flushed and his whole body got a little warmer. He understood why Yuta kissed Sicheng the way he had way back at the festival and came to the conclusion he’d love to have Sicheng kissing him with fireworks in the background, but the fireworks in his head when their lips pressed together again and then again were enough for the moment.

When his brain caught up, the giddiness exploded in Taeil’s chest and he couldn’t help but smile. He brought both hands up to cup Sicheng’s cheeks, thumbs rubbing gently over the younger’s cheekbones as they kissed, and for a moment he thought Yuta was onto something with the whole polyamory thing, because the only thing that’s ever felt as right as kissing Sicheng was kissing Yuta.

Sicheng pulled away first, gently knocking their foreheads together with a breathless laugh, and they both sat there in pleasant silence.

After the rush of emotion from that wore off, they talked a little; what did that mean for them? How did they really feel about all of this? When would they try to talk to Yuta about it?

But they didn’t have all the answers right then, and that was fine. They spent the rest of the afternoon with _Lord of the Rings_ briefly interrupted by the occasional kiss, each one never failing to have fireworks going off in Taeil’s chest. At one point, Sicheng got up to grab a drink from the fridge, and Taeil watched him go, soaking in the feeling of having Sicheng, looking so soft in _his_ sweater, comfortably navigating _his_ apartment. Sicheng glanced back at them and they giggled when their eyes met.

They didn’t have all the answers, but they knew they didn’t need them. All they needed was their Yuta, and everything would work out fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for sticking around with me through this wild ride! I'm sorry the last few chapters have felt kinda rushed - I rushed them. lol.  
> I seriously can't say thank you enough for all the support I've received while writing this fic!! It's truly mind blowing and I hope you all know I will cry actual tears if this dumb fic reaches 2k hits. It's coming. (follow me @cherrykjng on twitter to see me cry) 
> 
> anyway, stick around for johnjae dramatics and doten as well uwu they are already being written, but hopefully they won't be long like this was skdfhsdlkj  
> also stick around as i continue Home aka the yujohnyong literally no one wants uwu


End file.
